


Swear on Your Tail Fin

by sodaghost (sodastars)



Category: One Piece
Genre: Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Mermaid Luffy, Trans Characters, but its not a main thing, its pretty fluffy, kinda slow burn, mermaid au, themes of disabled characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2019-11-13 06:40:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 21,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18026681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sodastars/pseuds/sodaghost
Summary: His hand meets a cool, smooth surface, the low rumble of water merging with his sense of touch. This is the fish tank, Zoro identifies as another momentous swish within the walls is produced. He could actually feel the feedback of that swish. Whatever fish was in there is powerful, that's for sure.(Or, Zoro gets on the wrong ship and meets mermaid!Luffy)





	1. The Tide Brings You In

**Author's Note:**

> this first chapter wasnt meant to be so long but here we are
> 
> (luffy is agender in this fic and doesn't really care what people call him/what pronouns people use for him, here zoro automatically uses they/them pronouns for luffy and it doesn't really come up in conversation. it will be addressed in future chapters though!)

Zoro settles himself on what remains of the ship, the crewmates slashed and strewn across the deck in various places. His muscles creaking in protest as he laid down. He dragged this battle out a bit longer than he should've, the sun was already setting. He could see the stars slowly emerging now, finally getting their turn in the sky. Zoro makes a mental note to check all the people later for any bounties on their heads, or at the very least some loose change in their pockets. At least then he would get something out of this. He hadn't meant to get on this ship, that was a mistake on his part, but when the occupants begin to attack him what choice did he have but fight back? That was  _ their _ mistake.

 

Although, a wrong ship was still a wrong ship, so now he's just….. here. Zoro wasn't sure where to go now that he's knocked out everyone on deck, he sure as hell doesn't know how to navigate this boat either. He gets up from his corner with a sigh and a yawn. It's been a while since his last meal. He's hungry, so he might as well raid the ship while he's here. From what Zoro observed, the people on this ship seemed to be petty voyaging thieves. Just thieves, they weren't even brave enough to fly a pirate flag, so he felt no guilt in cutting them down and taking their food.

 

He strolls down a flight of stairs to the hull of the ship, hands gripping the swords at his side in case he runs into some leftover crewmen. The bottom of the staircase is dark as hell, he needs to stay alert in that room. Just because his stomach is empty doesn't mean he'll let his guard down.

 

However, the moment his foot hits the final step, that’s when Zoro hears it.

 

Water.

 

_ Running water. _

 

Panic seized his lungs. Zoro instinctively backs up, but the back of his foot hits a stair instead and suddenly he's tumbling backwards without a lick of grace. Grunting in pain, he reaches up to blindly grab at the railings, missing several times in the dark, and gets back up as quickly as he can, not caring for the bruises blooming over his back. If there's really a leak in the hull, Zoro needs to find a lifeboat and get off this death trap as fast as he can. He can worry about food later.

 

Even so, despite his urgency, the swordsman only manages to sprint up a few steps before he hears another noise that halts him. It was…… a swishing sound?

 

It was a swish that was warped and muddled, not a crisp  _ splash _ made on the surface of shallow water, this was a  _ warble _ made deep under.

 

Zoro felt the confusion creeping in as he focused more on the auditory image surrounding him. He tentatively places his foot down and drags it along the ground. From what he felt, the floor was bone dry, the room wasn't nearly flooded enough for anything to make such a noise. Not only that, the running water didn't sound like it was crashing into wood, it was more of a gentle flow into a larger body of water now that he's zeroing in on it.

 

Another swish, this time accompanied by the clacks of tiny rocks. Slow and delayed. These were also underwater.

 

_ There must be a fish tank, _ Zoro thought as he begins to feel along the walls for any sort of light, feeling much more at ease now that he knew the ship wasn't sinking. Not to mention, having fresh fish straight from the tank seems pretty good right now.

 

He trips a little, someone left some sort of bag along the walls, so Zoro kicks it out of the way and tries to feel his way around a little more. It wasn't easy, chairs and crates and barrels and tables stood in his way, but not a single match or candle to remedy the situation. His eyes were starting to hurt from all the strain of trying to develop night vision right then and there. Just great.

 

But eventually, his hand meets a cool, smooth surface, the low rumble of water merging with his sense of touch.  _ This is the fish tank, _ Zoro identifies as another momentous swish within the walls is produced. He could actually feel the  _ feedback  _ of that swish. Whatever fish was in there is powerful, that's for sure.

 

_ Fish?  _ Zoro thought,  _ is it a singular fish? There's no way something that strong has tankmates. _

 

He squints in an attempt to discern anything in this darkness and sure enough, Zoro could make out the large vague blob of a singular mass. Just as he suspected, there's only one fish in that tank.

 

_ At least it's a big one,  _ Zoro thought as he felt around the tank more. These things usually have a light on them, right?

 

Finally, his fingers fumble upon a switch, and with a bit of fiddling, a soft blue light finally flooded the room.

 

Zoro blinks at the sudden brightness, but once he sees what's in the tank, his eyes widen and he blinks again once. Twice. Three times. As though the thing he could not believe he's seeing will just go away, will just conform to his reality if he does it enough times.

 

But it doesn't, and Zoro just has to accept the fact that there really is a chained up person with a fishtail in that tank.

 

The person was curled up, head in their hands, likely flinching from the light as well. When they adjusted and slowly unfurled themselves, Zoro can more clearly see the chain and collar around their neck. When he first saw it, Zoro had the split second thought that the person was chained there to drown in some morbid display until he saw they were half fish. It was a rather dark idea.

 

The fish person (mermaid? Merman?), was relatively calm compared to Zoro’s shocked stiff demeanor. In fact, they almost seem relaxed. They swam closer to Zoro, hands spread on the glass and chains clinking along.

 

“You're new,” they simply said. The phrase wasn't a question or an observation, it was merely a statement.

 

A pause hung between them, Zoro too stunned to give any sort of reply, but this fish wasn't deterred one bit with their seemingly lack of social tact and continued on.

 

“You were the one making all that noise upstairs, right? You beat up everyone on the ship.”

 

Zoro could only manage a small, “uhh yeah” with a slight nod.

 

The fish beamed. “So you're a good guy then.”

 

“Uh, I mean,” Zoro’s hand comes up to rub the back of his hair, “I try not to be the  _ bad  _ guy at the very least….”

 

The fish person only nodded, not saying anymore. It was at this moment that Zoro actually saw the  _ details _ of this creature, beyond more than just seeing human half and fish half. He noted the light translucent blue fin, the darker blue tail, the tiny sprinkles of shiny red scales throughout, and how the whole piece flowed into a gradient band of yellow where skin and scale meet. All the primary colors made the fish tail look bright and cute, maybe even a little kiddy. Trailing his gaze up, Zoro can safely say these descriptors could apply to the human half as well.

 

They wore a sleeveless red hoodie with a little star logo over the right side of their chest, something like crimin or whatever written underneath it. It seemed a bit baggy on him, or, Zoro realized, the person's frame was just tiny. Their whole body was just a collection of lanky tan tubes and noodles, absolutely zero curve or muscle definition. The only thing about the fish indicating anything more than skin and bones was their round face. Round eyes, a little scar under the left. Unruly black hair, dancing in the flow of water. Their cheeks weren't chubby persay, but they were certainly soft on the edges.

 

And now they're turning pink. The fish person's whole face scrunching up in discomfort as their tail restlessly swishes and-

 

Oh.

 

Zoro had been staring.

 

He has been staring for  _ way _ too long.

 

_ Fuck I'm creepy, _ Zoro thinks, his own cheeks now coloring in embarrassment,  _ I'm so fucking creepy. _ He has to remedy this situation  _ now. _

 

“Um, sorry. I uh-”

 

Suddenly, Zoro’s stomach growls. Loudly. The fish’s discomfort now replaced with wild fear. They swim backwards, so fast that Zoro couldn't even see them move. Their spine was pressed against the tank wall furthest away from him and then they're shouting, “OH MY GOD YOU’RE GONNA EAT ME.”

 

“No!” Zoro assures, “no no no, I was just-”

 

“ _ THAT’S _ WHY YOU WERE STARING AT ME FOR SO LONG. WAAAAH I'M GONNA BE EATEN! PLEASE DON’T, I DON'T TASTE VERY GOOD!”

 

“NO! No, not at all! I wasn't planning to eat you!” The fact that Zoro was absolutely planning to eat whatever was in the tank until a few moments ago goes unmentioned.

 

“HUMANS REALLY EAT MERMAIDS?! SABO TOLD ME THAT WAS JUST A MYTH BUT HE WAS WRONG, I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!”

 

“SHUT UP AND CALM DOWN, I'M NOT GOING TO EAT YOU.”

 

Almost instantly, the fish person ( _ mermaid, _ Zoro reminds himself) clamps their mouth shut and is immediately silent. Their hand goes to swipe at their eyes, as though wiping away tears, but Zoro couldn't really tell with them being underwater. “Oh,” was all they said.

 

The quietness hung between them for a moment. Zoro held eye contact for a couple seconds, but he hastily broke it to avoid coming off as weird again, looking anywhere else in the tank. On the other hand, the mermaid kept their gaze on Zoro, slowly shifting back towards the front of the tank. Their hand is placed on the glass again, and Zoro hesitates before he slowly lines up his own hand against the other side. It was a small gesture, but the smile the mermaid gives tells Zoro that he's established trust again at the very least.

 

“Sorry for scaring you like that,” Zoro says with an exhale of relief, working up the courage to look directly at the mermaid again.

 

The mermaid tilts their head to the left, one eyebrow raising in confusion, “huh, why are you apologizing? I was the one who thought you were gonna eat me.”

 

As they say this, an impossibly wide smile stretches across their face, eyes squeezed shut in favor of giving the mouth more space to express, and breaths of laughter pass through teeth still pressed together.

 

“Shi shi shi, you're silly.”

 

Well that irked him a little, “oi, I was just trying to be nice!”

 

“Huh? a guy like you can be nice?”

 

They begin to laugh even more jubilantly this time, sputtering something about how Zoro was “so funny” and “too much fun” between breaths. This damn mermaid is starting to piss him off, Zoro thought.

 

Wait,  _ the damn mermaid?  _ Shit, that's right, Zoro still never got their-

 

“By the way, what's your name, anyway?”

 

Fuck, that damn fish was already one step ahead of him. Or…. one fin? Gah, who knows. At this point, he just needs to get this interaction over with.

 

“Zoro,” he practically grunts, “its Roronoa Zoro.”

 

“Oh, that's a nice name! Ro-ro-nooooaaaaa..…. that's fun to say! My name is Luffy.”

 

The mermaid, Luffy, is now back to that bubbly demeanor, choosing not to take any note of Zoro’s grumpy behavior. Their tail was happily swishing side to side now. It made Zoro snort. For a fish, Luffy seemed more like a puppy to him. He couldn't stay mad at that.

 

“Hey hey, Zoro. Let's talk more, but can you do something about this first?”

 

Luffy lifts their chin, showing off the collar and tugs at the chain connected to it. The other end is linked to a coral rock insert in the tank, the length being pitifully short and didn't even allow Luffy to stick his head above water. The tank was only about six feet tall, poor guy barely had any space to even stretch their tail (if that's a thing mermaids do).

 

“Uh yeah, of course….” Zoro says as his hand grips the hilt of his sword, “I can cut-”

 

“No, that won't work. It's sea prism, you need a key.”

 

Zoro’s befuddled, “what's sea prism?”

 

“Eh, doesn't matter,” Luffy shrugs, “it's just really really strong, so your swords won't work. I know where they keep the key though.”

 

He's a bit disappointed he won't get to cut anything, but Zoro's hand falls to his side and he gets up. “Alright, shoot. Where is it.”

 

Luffy nods and presses their face against the glass, trying to go further beyond the walls just to more accurately point to a certain direction. Their finger smushes against the surface as well, pointing to a wall to the  ~~ left ~~ right of Zoro, “there's a little bag somewhere along that wall. It has all the stuff they took from me in there too so just bring the whole thing over.”

 

_ Shit, it wasn't the bag that I kicked earlier is it?  _ Zoro thought.

 

“No problem, I'll get it,” he says, turning to making his way over.  _ Hopefully Luffy didn't own anything breakable, _ he wishes.

 

It's still somewhat dark in the room. The only source of light was the tank, washing everything around him in a bluish hue. It gets harder to see the further Zoro gets from the fish tank, but it's much more manageable than before. He reaches the wall Luffy directed him to, and looks to find the only bag in the area. The one he  _ definitely  _ kicked.

 

Zoro bends down and picks up the bag. It wasn't all that big or heavy, there was maybe only one or two things in there. As he turns back over to Luffy, he shakes it a bit while fumbling with the front pockets. His hands feel the smooth metal of a key, but they also felt the rustling of tiny pieces at the bottom as he shook the bag.  _ Something's definitely broken, fuck. _

 

“Alright, I found it,” Zoro casually states as he walks over, waving the key in the air as he did.  _ Just don't mention you kicked their things, it's fine. They don't need to know. _

 

Luffy was already eager and excitedly swishing their tail again, “oh oh, that's it! You found it!!”

 

Once Zoro gets there, the mermaid is practically vibrating. That earns another snort from him.

 

“Alright alright, I know you're excited but calm down. Should I just drop this key in the tank and you unlock the chain yourself from there?”

 

“Yeah, I can do that on my own! Just drop it in!!”

 

Luffy’s pretty much just making grabby hands towards the top of the tank at this point.  _ They're so energetic, _ Zoro thinks as he reaches up to plop the key in,  _ it must have been torture to be confined in such a small space. _ The tank was barely taller than Zoro by a couple inches, he reaches the top so easily.

 

Luffy’s hand immediately grabs their piece to freedom, and struggles to jam the key into lock for a bit in their excited haste. Zoro is about to tell the mermaid to slow down, but Luffy finally gets it right and soon the collar sinks into the colorful pebbles as they swim their way up.

 

They grab the edge, and with a hard flick of their tail, Luffy successfully pushes themselves up out of the water but ends up awkwardly leaning over the glass. They stare at the ground, then they look to Zoro.

 

“Okay, I need help for this part.”

 

Zoro, on the other hand, was shaking off water from Luffy's violent splash of freedom when they broke the surface. At the request, Zoro sighs, accepting that he was going to get more water on him anyway and reaches up to get ahold of the mermaid after he sets the bag off to the side.

 

He grabs Luffy from under his armpits, and Luffy reaches out to steady their weight on Zoro's shoulders. Soon, Luffy is lifted up slightly and is being pulled forward over the edge. The hands resting on Zoro's shoulders become arms, then elbows, then another set of shoulders, and the damp hands slink around to grab the side of his head or shoulder blade as a wet mop of hair slinks into the crook of his neck.  _ Gross, _ Zoro thinks as he wraps one arm tightly around Luffy's midsection and the other going to lift the last half of the tail still hanging in the tank.

 

One flick, and Luffy's whole body swings down but Zoro easily catches them in his grip, other arm quickly moving to meet the one around their torso. He side steps with the momentum so that the mermaid’s tail doesn't just smack into him, and Luffy themself giggles at the little half twirl and swing they did. They were having fun.

 

After that, Luffy removes themselves from Zoro's neck but there's a bit of an awkward moment as Zoro still holds them, not knowing whether he should set Luffy down or not.

 

Luffy isn't sure why they're still being held at first, but it soon clicks when they take note of how Zoro glances between their fin and the ground. When Zoro moves to shift Luffy into a more bridal style hold and starts lowering them down onto their tail fin, Luffy laughs and just lifts himself out of Zoro's arms and stands themselves upright.

 

“It's okay, I can stand on my tail.”

 

Zoro, left half crouch down and arms still out to cradle a body no longer there, could only awkwardly straighten himself back up and turn to hide his embarrassed face.

 

“Oh that's…. that's cool.”

 

“Yeah, I can also walk too. It's not super easy or whatever, but I can get around fine on land. So don't worry about me too much!”

 

As they say this, Luffy grabs Zoro's bicep and bends down to reach the bag left on the floor. They struggle, bending purely at the waist since bending their tail the same way a human would bend their knees results in their loss of balance on the stub of their tail. Zoro pushes the mermaid back up and easily gets the bag himself.

 

Luffy gives a pleasant “thank you” when the bag is handed to them. Zoro only responds with a shrug as Luffy begins rummaging through the contents.

 

The first thing Luffy pulls out is a straw hat. It looks scruffy, old, and worn, and it's immediately jammed onto the top of their head. The hat is a little endearing, Zoro thinks. Then, Luffy goes back to rummaging and the second thing thing they pull out looks to be some sort of bracelet or a watch, but the circular indented section on it is empty and the edges had sharp pieces of gla-

 

_ Shit. _

 

“Oh no, my log pose is broken!”

 

_ SHIT. _

 

“Um….” Zoro starts, as innocently as he can, “what's a log pose? That wasn't like…. important or anything was it?”

 

“It means I can't navigate the grand line at all, which is where fishman island is.”

 

_ Fuck, _ Zoro thinks,  _ fuck FUCK, fishman island? Did I break their only means to go home?  _ **_FUCK._ **

 

Luffy just sighs, seemingly already resigned to the situation, “it's okay. I guess I don't really need one in the east blue and I'm not gonna leave so soon. I can get a new one later.”

 

Alright, that's fine. That's okay, that's right. They can just get a new one and all is fi-

 

“Aaaaahh but log poses aren't common in the east blue, it's going to be really hard to find one here….”

 

It's not fine. Zoro ruined this mermaid’s life. They can't go home because of him. This is bad. What is he going to do. Oh god how are they gonna go home oh god he has to apologize for this.

 

“I-I um… I'm sorry-”

 

“Huh?” Luffy has now tossed the bag to the side and what remains of their log pose along with it. Now they're turned towards Zoro with a puzzled look.

 

“Zoro's apologizing for no reason again.”

 

“Oh, no I'm apologizing because I- the log pose is broken because-”

 

“It's not Zoro's fault that it's broken, those guys who kidnapped me probably broke it. They weren't very nice with my things, and I think they threw out my bubble coral too. Besides, it's not like you kicked it around or anything. Also you're really sweaty now.”

 

Zoro just grunts, deciding to not say anything and pretend he's cool and aloof. Yep, that'll work, not trying to cover up the fact he absolutely kicked it around earlier at all nope. He also makes a mental note to ask Luffy what the fuck a bubble coral is later.

 

Luffy leans in a bit close to his face, “Hmm, you're still like really sweaty. I get it, this dark room is all gross and stuffy. Let's go out to the deck! It's night time right now, right? Cmon, I wanna look at the stars!”

 

With that, Zoro's arm is being grabbed with a surprising amount of strength, but Luffy weakly hopping away does nothing to actually move him. Zoro can only laugh, and follows luffy's insistent tugging out onto the deck.


	2. A Starry Night Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the boys just talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a shorter chapter  
> (another chapter will be posted along side this, so its kind of a two for one)

“Woah, your hair is  _ green. _ ”

 

“Of course it is, what did you think it was?”

 

“I thought it was a bluish seafoam green! That's what it looked like in the tank light, but it's surface green!”

 

“Surface green?”

 

✦✦✦

 

“So should we just throw these guys overboard? They did kidnap you and all.”

 

“Hmmm no, that seems a bit harsh. Humans can't swim for very long, right? Let's just tie them up for now.”

 

“Alright, if you say so. Here, let's go find some rope, we'll need a lot of it.”

 

✦✦✦

 

“I can't believe Zoro forgot to eat food.”

 

“Shut up, you were the one who distracted me!”

 

“Shi shi shi, I wonder if they have any meat. Hey Zoro, can you cook?”

 

“I can make sashimi and that's about it. Wait, shit, was that offensive?”

 

✦✦✦

 

“-oh and I can also do this!”

 

“Wha- what the- HOW DID YOU SHARPEN YOUR TEETH LIKE THAT?!”

 

✦✦✦

 

“Isn't ‘mermaid’ like a term for just girls? You guys have different words for that stuff, right?”

 

“Hmmm yeah we do. Mermaid, mermen, merpeople, but it's doesn't really matter to me. Mermaid is sorta the most common term, it's kinda like how humans say ‘mankind’ I guess. You probably would say the specific terms when talking about a person though, so I guess I should be called a merman but I don't don't really care about that sort of thing. Not the same way as Ace at least, Sabo said we were like the same but different. I don't really get it. I don't care about it at all like Ace, but Sabo said that  _ not _ caring enough could mean the same thing. Do you understand that sort of thing?”

 

“You know what? I do actually.”

 

✦✦✦

 

“Wait, they were going to  _ sell _ you?!”

 

✦✦✦

 

“You've been traveling on your own for this long and you don't know how to sail?”

 

“They weren't my ships! I always just hitched rides. What about you? You can't sail either!”

 

“I don't need to sail! I can  _ swim.” _

 

✦✦✦

 

“Oh I almost forgot to ask, what's a bubble coral?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“A bubble coral. You mentioned that those guys probably threw yours out, what was it?”

 

“Oh yeah, I did say that. Well a bubble coral is a piece of coral that makes bubbles! But it looks like a regular piece of coral, so those guys probably thought it was trash.”

 

“Um alright, is something like that important to you? Why do you need something that just makes bubbles.”

 

“You're silly, the bubbles help me move around on land! A bubble goes around my waist and I can just float around in the air, it's much easier than walking.”

 

“Hm, how are you going to manage without one then?”

 

“Hey, I can manage it fine! Besides, I probably shouldn't use one here anyway. I'm not supposed to let anyone know I'm a mermaid, and having a bubble around my waist would probably give me away.”

 

“.......well, I can always help you get around on land. You're light, but lifting small weights can still be important in a workout.”

 

“I already told you I can manage just fine and wait, did you just say you're gonna use me as a weight?”

 

✦✦✦

 

“Its really late, shouldn’t you go to sleep soon?”

 

“What? You need sleep too, silly. Besides, we’re still talking! And I haven’t seen the starts for a while.”

 

“You sure like looking at the stars.”

 

“Hm? Well yeah, you don't get to see them as much when you're underwater.”

 

✦✦✦

 

“-and I want to become a pirate. I guess I can be one now that I'm out here.”

 

“You're here because you've been kidnapped.”

 

“That doesn't matter! What matters is that my adventure has already started, so I'm going to make the best of it by becoming king of the pirates!”

 

“Pirate king!? That's an insane goal to have on a whim like that, especially since you don't have legs!”

 

“Huh? But it's not a whim, I've been wanting to be pirate king for a long time! That's what I promised Shanks, I don't care how many people tell me I can't do it just because I can't walk very well on land!”

 

“.....do people tell you that a lot?”

 

“Tell me what?”

 

“That you can't become pirate king, because of the whole leg thing.”

 

“Hm yeah, sort of. But I think that's dumb. Shanks is half blind in one eye and he lost an arm for me, but he's still a really great and strong pirate! I know it's a bit of a hassle for me to get around on land, but that doesn't stop me from being strong.”

 

“.....I can understand that, being told you can't achieve your dreams over a really stupid reason.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah, it's not exactly the same as you and this Shanks guy, but I've gone through it. My…. my friend did too.”

 

“Oh......so what's your dream?”

 

“.............to become the world’s greatest swordsman.”

 

“Hm, that's a good dream.”

 

“You think?”

 

“Of course, and I know Zoro can do it.”

 

“You seem to put a lot of faith in me.”

 

“Yeah, I believe that you're strong. I can feel it.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Without a doubt. So what about me?”

 

“What?”

 

“Do you believe in me?”

 

“......I do. I believe you'll become pirate king.”

 

“Shi shi shi that's good to hear, because I think you would be the perfect first mate on my crew! You wanna join me?”

 

“....”

 

“....”

 

“......yeah, I think I'd like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some quick things just in case people didn't get my vagueness:  
> -ace and zoro are both trans men  
> -ace cares too much about pronouns, luffy cares too little, and sabo is juuuust cis (he's smart though and was actually the one to point out to ace and luffy that they're both probably trans)  
> -some other character will be trans too, but luffy's identity will be the only one actually relevant to the story
> 
> hope that clears up any questions people may have about that!


	3. Sleepy Time Sailings

The sun was finally rising.

 

When Luffy fell asleep, Zoro decided to stay up and keep watch. He didn't mind, he usually only gets about three hours of sleep every night anyway, and he can always nap later. At one point, one of the crew members woke up and started raising hell about being tied up. Zoro had to shut him up pretty quickly, he's glad Luffy's such a heavy sleeper.

 

They fell asleep in a spot that would be pretty inconvenient if they had more people walking around on deck. For a moment, Zoro goes and sits next to Luffy this time, feeling comfort in seeing the steady rise and fall of their chest.

 

Later, Luffy began to stir. Their tail flops around a bit as they grumble, blanket pulled all the way up to their ears slip as Luffy lazily pushes themselves up. Zoro, now standing a few feet away staring out into the sea, makes his way over and ruffles the mess of black hair.

 

“Hey, it's only been a few hours, you should go back to sleep.”

 

“Where….did this blanket come from…” they blearily respond, fingers feeling the fabric between them.

 

Luffy still seemed half asleep, Zoro observes. Their words were slow and slurred, and their eyes haven't even really opened yet. They also don't seem to remember asking Zoro for a blanket in their sleep. He gently pats their shoulder.

 

“Just sleep, you still seem really tired.”

 

At the light pat, Luffy does lay back down, but then they rolled over and weakly grab the swordsman’s wrist.

 

“Zoro's not sleeping….”

 

“Don't worry about me, I don't need to. I'm keeping watch for any islands,” Zoro says trying to wiggle free from the mermaid’s grip.

 

Meanwhile, Luffy perks up at this, eyes opening the tiniest bit to reveal brown eyes peeking through.

 

“Island?”

 

Hand now free from their grasp, Zoro just taps the bridge between Luffy's eyebrows, making the mermaid's eyes instinctively shut again.

 

“I'll wake you when I see one, just sleep for now.”

 

“Mm.”

 

And then they were out like a light. Time to go back to watch, Zoro thinks.

 

That lasted a total of fifteen minutes, when Zoro soon sees two stranded men scrambling for help in the sea. They saw the ship and Zoro leaning on the rail, so they start calling out to him.

 

“Hey! Hey you with the green hair! Can you give us a hand?”

 

“Please! Could you let us onboard?”

 

Zoro ponders for a minute, genuinely considering fulfilling the stranded men's request, but then he goes to glance at Luffy sleeping peacefully a few feet away. The large blanket is covering their entire tail.

 

The phrase  _ “I'm not supposed to let anyone know I'm a mermaid” _ from one of last night's many conversations come to mind. He turns back to the stranded men.

 

“No.”

 

“Oh! Thank you, we really appreciate- nO?! DID YOU JUST SAY NO?”

 

“Oh cmon, you're really just going to let us drown?! Please, you gotta help, this girl tricked us and stole our ship!”

 

Zoro shrugs at them. “Uh I can throw you a life ring so you don't drown, but I can't let you on the ship.”

 

“Why not?! Please, it looks like you're the only one onboard and it's such a big ship for just one guy. We can help you sail it!”

 

Well, the promise of having someone who can sail seems pretty ideal. It would certainly be better than just drifting aimlessly around. After all, Luffy is eager to explore new places after being confined to a tank for  _ so long  _ (it was actually only five days, but five days of doing nothing is an eternity to Luffy), maybe having these guys sail them somewhere wouldn't be so bad. Luffy's tail is covered by the blanket right now, and as long as these guys don't get too close, Zoro can easily move Luffy elsewhere and better hide their fish half later.

 

“Alright,” Zoro finally replies, grabbing some leftover rope from earlier and tossing it towards the men, “you can get on but my friend is sleeping, so keep quiet and don't go near them.”

 

The men sang a multitude of praise and appreciation for the swordsman as they climb the secured rope up the side of the ship, finally at ease once they reach the deck.

 

When Zoro sees that their new guests were safely onboard, he begins to walk towards Luffy, turning a blind eye to the men.

 

Then, when the sound of a sword being half unsheathed rings in his ears, Zoro swiftly spins on his heel to face men in a powerful stance with his own sword half drawn in anticipation. The man on the left, wearing a blue bandanna oh his head, immediately drops his weapon. He raises his arms in the air and sweats profusely while shaking. The other man, with a red sash, takes a fearful step back, looks to the side and sees the bundle of badly beat up, unconscious people tied to the mast, and takes a second step back.

 

Blue Bandana is scrambling, “AH- Uh, I- I’m sorry! I wasn’t really going to attack you, I was just uh- joking around! Ha ha….Just joking, so please don’t hurt me!” He’s clearly guilty, but apparently he’s still willing to try covering up his actions. Zoro didn’t care.

 

“Keep it down.”

 

“Uh- h-huh?”

 

“Keep it down,” Zoro repeats, “I already told you, my friend is sleeping. They stayed up really late last night and I don’t want you guys to wake them.”

 

Red Sash glances at Luffy, who is actually starting to rouse from all the commotion. He is stricken with the fear of what sort of wrath the swordsman would unleash if his friend actually woke up. He thinks he would rather jump back into the ocean.

 

Zoro glares down at the men. They were already scared shitless, and he hadn’t even done anything yet. He may not need to.

 

He straightens up his stance and resheaths Wado, but keeps his steely stare.

 

“You guys are going to sail this ship to nearest island. I don’t care what or where it is, just take us there. I’m going to move my friend into a room so that they’re out of the way, so you guys better not try anything while I’m gone. Got it?”

 

The men, excessively shaking and sweating, could only obediently nod.

 

Zoro waves them off, “Then go! We don’t have all day.”

 

And with that, they scramble like rats, and Zoro goes to pick up Luffy. He takes careful caution to make sure the blanket is securely wrapped around the mermaid, and carries them off into a nearby bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we about to run alongside the tracks of canon soon


	4. Orange Town, Orange Hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> new friend

“Alright, I found these really colorful blankets you could use as a skirt. These would probably look better than just the plain white bedsheets.”

 

“Oh, yeah! These would work, they're not as big as the other sheets too so I don't have to fold them either.”

 

They'll still touch the ground though, right? That's kind of the important part here.”

 

The ship has finally docked at an island, so Luffy and Zoro worked to find a disguise for the mermaid's tail. Zoro had already kicked the other men off the boat the moment the island came into view. The rest of the crew members he had tied up were still stuck against the mast, he’ll figure out what to do with them later.

 

For now, getting Luffy ready to explore the new island is top priority.

 

“Oooooh, this is perfect!”

 

“Are you sure?” Zoro inquires, “they come up a couple inches off the floor. I suppose no one would really notice if they weren't paying attention, but your fins  _ are _ still visible.”

 

“Yeah, I can wear shoes on them and it'll look normal. That's what girl mermaids usually do to hide.”

 

“And you're alright with wearing stuff like this?” Zoro asks as he secures the blanket in place around Luffy's waist.

 

“Huh? You mean wearing girl stuff? Yeah I'm fine with it, I used to wear Ace’s old dresses to hide my tail! I would have a bubble underneath the dress so it would look all poofy and people always told me it was cute and stuff which I didn't really like, but dresses in general are pretty nice I guess. I don't really get why people make such a big deal out of them. Hm, but I suppose I don't like the super frilly stuff? I feel really itchy in those and I don't like how they look. Oh, and the ones with lots of pink and ribbons feel a bit much and….”

 

Luffy continues to ramble on, Zoro not really feeling the need to stop them. He sums up that Luffy basically just preferred simpler skirts and dresses that don't get in the way, and that colors didn't matter too much to them but something a solid color is nicer to them.

 

At some point, Zoro leaves Luffy in the midst of their talking to get shoes off one the bound crewmen and comes back to the mermaid still going. They sure had a lot to say.

 

They finally stop when Zoro hands them the raggedy brown shoes, it was all those guys had, and Zoro watches with interest as Luffy lowers themselves to sit on the ground and methodically shove their fin into the shoes with practiced ease. It makes Zoro wonder how long Luffy has been secretly living among humans.

 

Soon, Luffy's fin is perfectly tucked and, even though they didn't need it, Zoro offers his hand and helps the mermaid stand back up. The disguise is complete! Tail now hidden, Luffy looks like a normal human.

 

Luffy's excitedly bouncing. “Hey hey, Zoro! I'm good now, right? I look fine?” They do a little spin, allowing the swordsman to see a full three-sixty view.

 

“Yeah, you're good. No one will think you're a mermaid like this.”

 

The moment those words were uttered, Luffy's twirl comes to a halt and they're immediately rushing off yelling, “THEN LET'S GO ALREADY, I WANNA HAVE AN ADVENTURE.”

 

Zoro could not help but snort at what he's seeing. Luffy is running, but having only one appendage to stand on makes it look more like a hasty waddle, and the sluggish speed does not match Luffy's overzealous nature one bit.

 

Zoro strolls alongside Luffy, very little effort needed to catch up to them. At one point, Luffy loses their balance and very nearly falls, but Zoro easily catches them. Clinging to Zoro’s arm, Luffy effortlessly stands themself back up just fine, but finds that they can walk at a faster pace if they continue to hold on to the swordsman’s arm as they move.

 

So, Luffy stays attached to Zoro’s arm, clinging like a little koala much to Zoro’s embarrassment. He has never had as much physical contact with another living being as much as he’d known Luffy for the past two days.

 

But, if it helps Luffy get around more easily, Zoro’s willing to put up with it. It’s the least he could do.

 

His face was feeling a little hot though, and he felt like his stomach was tied in knots. It was a weird feeling, but Zoro didn’t feel sick so he was probably fine. He can sleep it off, like he always does. But for now, he’ll just strike up conversation with Luffy to take his mind off it. Talking with Luffy has become a comforting habit.

 

“So, those guys said this place is called Orange Town, apparently they live here.”

 

“Oh, that’s nice we got them home then! I wonder what we’ll find here, do you think the people are nice? Oh, I wonder if we’ll see a cat, I’ve never seen one before and….”

 

✦✦✦

 

Nami has nearly made a clean escape, she just has to shake off these last few guys chasing after her. The map in her hand is becoming crinkled with how tightly she’s gripping it, but it’s nothing the paper can’t handle. Maps were made to last for generations after all.

 

She just has to keep running and running, she refuses to be caught here.

 

Nami is turning corner after corner, jumping up to higher ground whenever she could, and taking as many twists and turns as possible but these goons were  _ still _ chasing her. She’ll give them points for tenacity at the very least, but this is getting tedious.

 

She takes a sharp turn into an alley, swiftly enough to be lost sight of. Now, Nami just needs to hide and her pursuers will dash right past-

 

What is this couple doing here and why is the one with a straw hat wearing a towel around his waist?

 

✦✦✦

 

Zoro stands face to face with this girl in the alleyway. She’s not threatening by any means, but the way she’s looking at Luffy’s makeshift skirt causes some concern. Luffy, on the other hand, as usual doesn’t notice the scrutinizing gaze. They even point at the girl, who seems rather offended at the action.

 

“Hey Zoro, is this place called Orange Town because the people here have orange hair?”

 

“Well, this is the first person we’ve seen here so lets not have that be the first conclusion we jump to,” Zoro says, his voice calm as he frees his arm from Luffy’s hold, but the girl catches how his guard sharply go up which in turn has her on edge as well. Zoro’s arm subtly goes in front of his companion as he takes a step forward, other hand grabbing the hilt of Wado. Luffy, once again, does not notice the sudden tension in the air.

 

He and the girl has a standoff. She’s clutching something in her hand and glancing around while taking steps back. Zoro feels no ounce of malice or fighting spirit in her, she just seems to want to run away.

 

_ So why doesn’t she dart off already? _ Zoro wonders. There’s nothing stopping her from turning around and leaving the alley.

 

Well, he gets his answer conveniently quick, as a couple of guys run by the alley entrance but swiftly return once they see it’s occupants. The girl suddenly stiffens at the newcomer’s presence, the piece of paper she’s holding now protectively clutched at her chest, and she’s looking frantically back and forth between them. She’s boxed in.

 

The new guys ready their weapons, which the unarmed girl tenses at. Zoro can see now that she posed no harm to Luffy, and now knowing she has enemies, he can’t help the urge to assist.

 

Zoro is prepared to attack the men, the girl perceiving his intent and stepping to the side. He likes this girl, she seems pretty keen and observant.

 

The men charge. Zoro is eagerly about to draw his sword, but a gentle hand briefly greets his shoulder before pulling away as quickly as it came. The motion causes him to pause, then suddenly Luffy comes into his field of vision, walking cooly towards the enemy.

 

He’s about to say something, but in a single, quick glance from the mermaid, he somehow hears a single phrase as clear as day.

 

_ Let me handle this. _

 

And so he does.

 

“Ocean technique….”

 

Luffy, turning away from Zoro in one brisk motion, swiftly winds their arm back and punches forward with mighty strength. But they don’t make contact with the attackers.

 

No, something much more incredible happens.

 

“ _ PISTOL!” _

 

Suddenly, a wave burst of force suddenly erupts from Luffy’s fist and the men are flown back from the sheer power, the knockback sending them crashing into a nearby building. Zoro and the girl, standing behind Luffy, could still feel the energy of the impact. The expression of awe and amazement have made its way to both their faces.

 

“w-wha-wh-whAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!” the girl abruptly screeches. She turns to Zoro, “HOW THE HELL DID HE DO THAT?!”

 

“I don’t know, that’s the first time I’ve seen them do that too. I’ve only been with them for two days.”

 

“Wha- two days?! And what do you mean by ‘them’.” She looks around, as though expecting to see more people pop up at any moment.

 

“Oh,” Luffy chimes in, “I don’t really care what people call me!”

 

The girl just looks more confused than ever.

 

She looks mildly terrified, Zoro observes, but he sees how her demeanor changes when an epiphany falls upon her. A gleaming gaze of optimism is being bore into him now, and Zoro could see a plan hatching behind those large brown eyes. When she speaks, it’s like a knife coated in sweet chocolate.

 

He hates chocolate.

 

“Wow, you guys are really strong! I’m Nami, how about we join forces for a little bit!”

 

Zoro just scoffs, “don’t ask me, they’re the boss here,” he says pointing to Luffy.

 

With the display of power she saw earlier, Nami doesn’t doubt it. But, when she looks to Luffy and sees the way they clumsily shuffle over to reattach themself to Zoro’s arm has her raise skepticism.

 

“Are you telling me….he’s the one wearing the pants in this relationship?”

 

Instantly, Zoro’s face is instantly hot and Luffy nearly falls from all the frantic motions he’s suddenly doing. What is practically a sputtering soup of words is spilling out of Zoro’s mouth, all denials and decomfirmation of the supposed romantic connection. Nami finds it immensely amusing.

 

However, he shuts up the moment Luffy tells him to stop. Zoro, realizing he had been jostling around his mobily impaired companion, immediately apologizes. The amount of liveliness from mere seconds ago, quelled in an instant. Nami laughs.

 

“He has you wrapped around his finger, oh my god!”

 

“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT!”

 

The same show from before has started again, but this time, Zoro takes careful caution to keep the arm Luffy was holding onto still. Upon noticing, Nami just laughs even more.

 

Luffy, on the other hand, is just lost as usual.

 

“Hey, Zoro. What does she mean by that? I’m the one holding your arm and I can’t even wear pants. You’re all red now too.”

 

“Luffy, she thinks we’re like….together.”

 

“Huh? But we are together!”

 

The hysterics never end.

 

“Hmmm,” Luffy groans, feeling frustrated at his lack of understanding, “I don’t get why Nami’s laughing so hard and Zoro’s just acting weird. We are together, right? We came to this island as a team  _ and _ you’re on my crew. That means together, right?”

 

Zoro, trying as hard as he physically could to maintain his composure, tries his best to explain this to Luffy.

 

“I-I mean like….she thinks we’re dating. Romantically.”

 

And then there was a pause. Quietness was sang as even Nami held her cackle to better take in Luffy’s response. The reaction wasn’t instantaneous, but Luffy’s eyes very slowly begins to widen and warmth is spreading across their face as well. Their mouth hangs just slightly open, not even a full “o” shape, but a tiny half circle instead. Then, in what might as well be slow motion, they take a small step back, loosening the hold on Zoro’s arm. They lower their head just a tad, not enough to completely hide under the strawhat, but just enough that the shadow of it falls over their face, the heat on their cheeks becoming intense.

 

“O-oh….”

 

That was it, Zoro could feel his heart melting. This entire situation is stupid and he can’t fucking take it. It wasn’t even a reaction Nami could laugh at like Zoro’s, it was just sickeningly sweet.

 

Everyone is just awkwardly flailing, fidgeting, pacing, and hiding their faces for a few moments in an embarrassing display. If someone were to walk by their ally now, they would just think the trio is a weird band of kids performing some sort of ritual to summon the god of awkward tension. Nami is the one who takes mercy on the predicament.

 

“Okay, okay, enough of that. I’ve had my fun, let’s get back to the question at hand. So what do you say, wanna team up? I have this plan to steal from some pirates here, so we can get a lot of treasure!”

 

Even if the guy has zero social tact, it’s a damn good thing Luffy is quick to bounce back.

 

“Oh, treasure sounds nice, but I don’t think I want to join you. I’d rather just have food.”

 

“I can get you food.”

 

“Oh okay, then yeah we’ll team up!”

 

Zoro lightly hits the side of Luffy’s head, “oi oi…”

 

“What? There was barely any food on that ship and I’m hungry now, let’s go with her.”

 

Zoro can only sigh in defeat, “okay, we’ll eat, but we don’t have to trust her just because she feeds us.”

 

“Shi shi shi, then let’s go!”

 

At that que, Nami begins to lead the way, but takes notice on how Luffy tugs on Zoro’s arm first and only actually starts walking when the swordsman does. She finds it a bit strange, since this straw hat guy seems like the kind of person to just start running off on their own, but as the two walk alongside her, she sees how Luffy sort of leans into the other’s arm and the practiced synced steps the two have. Not to mention, Luffy’s steps were small and tentative under the skirt. It doesn’t seem like they could get very far on their own like that.

 

Oh.

 

“Is there something wrong with your legs?” Nami asks. It was a little blunt, and she looks embarrassed to have asked it like that.

 

Luffy and Zoro are shocked for a moment. They exchanged a look before Luffy answers her, voice soft and assuring her that they weren’t offended by the question.

 

“Um yeah, I can’t walk very well.”

 

Well, it wasn’t technically a lie.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Do you need anything? Like a wheelchair?”

 

“No no, I’m fine, because Zoro is helping!”

 

“Well,” Zoro joins, “as much as I’m fine with helping you, I think a wheelchair would actually be useful for you. You can move around on your own too.”

 

“Oh, that does sound nice actually….”

 

Nami herself waves in again, “I’m sure there’s a hospital around here we can find. We’ll find you one there.”

 

“Food first!”

 

“Geez priorities. Fine, food first, wheelchair after. Also, last question I swear, what  _ are _ you wearing?”

 

“Huh? Um….clothes?”

 

“Really? Because it looks like you’re wearing a really ugly towel.”

 

“Hey, it’s a blanket! Zoro picked it out.”

 

Nami turns to the swordsman, absolutely in disbelief, “you really picked out that green swamp striped monstrosity for your friend? Matching it with  _ red?! _ The neon yellow stripes on it already hurt my eyes without him looking like Christmas in a garbage landfill.”

 

_ Oh for fuck’s sake, _ Zoro thinks. “Hey, it’s not like I bought it at a store or something! Luffy needed something and it was all we had on hand to make a skirt out of, don’t patronize me like this.”

 

Nami sighs, ending the interaction with Zoro and going back to the person in question. “Luffy, right? I’m not sure why, but if skirts are your thing I’d be more than happy to lend you some of mine.”

 

“Really?! Wow you’re so nice! Do you have skirts that almost touch the floor?”

 

“What?! How old fashioned. You’re kidding me, right? Is that length a requirement?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Geez, Nami really didn’t know what she just signed up for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [yall want a drawing ref of luffys outfit](https://66.media.tumblr.com/05663c860f13a0cfee2dc30ee50ef7bc/tumblr_poa2jjzG9i1y2rn2so1_540.png)


	5. A little Downtime Dress Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> luffy finally gets some new clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is one of those chapters where not too much happens, but i hope its still entertaining

“So, is this your house?”

 

“Why would you ask me something like that after you’ve been here for at least ten minutes, eating all the food I gave you?”

 

Luffy is sat at a table, seeming content to finally sit down for a while as they ate a sandwich and various breads. Meanwhile, Zoro sat behind them, perched on a kitchen counter, watching Nami like a protective hawk. He was rather uninterested in anything else about the house, especially when he checked the fridge and found no booze, but Luffy raised a good point. Nothing about this home seemed to be for a teenage girl like Nami. If anything, the whole place had a sort of musty grandma vibe.

 

As a response to the previous question, Luffy only shrugs, but Zoro doesn’t doubt that they’ve noticed the same floral printed furniture as him.

 

Nami just huffs a breath of exasperation, “No, it’s not my house, I don’t even live in this town. Everyone abandoned this place after the Buggy pirates stuck claim here.”

 

Simultaneously, Zoro says, “Who are the Buggy pirates?” as Luffy says, “Then where do you live?”

 

The two exchange a glance at how they talked over each other, but Zoro still catches how Nami pointedly glared at Luffy.

 

“The Buggy pirates are these bunch of clowns. I already stole this map of the grand line from them and I fully intend to steal some treasure before I leave too,” is all she says, using that false sweetness in her voice.

 

Luffy’s question was promptly ignored, which Zoro finds suspicious, but Luffy didn’t seem to mind as their attention perked up the moment she said “grand line”.

 

“You’re going to the grand line?”

 

Just like that, the previous offense has apparently been swept under the rug, as Nami herself lights up.

 

“I sure am, I’m going to get a lot of money while I’m out there and I can draw maps as I navigate the islands!”

 

She’s so passionate, Zoro notes from the sidelines. Especially when she mentions the maps.

 

“Maps?!” Speaking of passionate, Luffy was getting excited as well. They’ve scarfed down all their food at this point, and eagerly pushes themselves up to stand. “Are you a navigator?”

 

Nami stands tall in front of Luffy’s table, looking relaxed as she flips her short hair. She seems to have easily settled into the comfortable air Luffy gives off and speaks with pride, “I sure am, a damn good one too if I say so myself! I’ve practically sailed the whole east blue on my own.”

 

“Ooooooh, that’s so cool! Have you’ve sailed the grand line before? Do you have a log pose?”

 

“I- huh?” Nami’s cool attitude was quick to stutter, “What’s a log pose?”

 

The momentum of enthusiasm has come to a stop, but this goes over Luffy’s head as they’re still excited as ever. “It’s this navigation tool you gotta use in the grand line. Normal compasses won’t work, then when you get to the new world you gotta use an even fancier log pose. It has like three needle things on it!”

 

Nami is flabbergasted by this new information. It’s understandable, Zoro can only imagine how surprising it must be to study navigation your whole life to only just now learn about this clearly vital information, from this random guy dressed in a really ugly blanket no less. She presses for more knowledge.

 

“How do you know all this? Have you been to the grand line?”

 

“Yeah! I’m from Fi-” Zoro claps a hand on Luffy’s shoulder before they could finish that sentence, leaving his post from the counter.

 

“They were born in the grand line,” He concludes for them. Luffy gives him a weird look, but then they realize the mistake they nearly made. Their face stretches into a surprised  _ “Oh!” _ before turning back to Nami and nod to confirm the statement with arms crossed and a cheeky smile.

 

Nami herself seemed too distracted by the prospect of learning more about navigation to really notice the strange exchange. With her gaze pointedly fixed on Luffy, Zoro could practically see the stars light up in her eyes.

 

“Could you tell me more about these log pose? And- and navigation on the grand line in general! What’s the weather like out there? Are the seas really as rough as they say they are? How many islands have you been to? Have you-”

 

“Woah!” Luffy exclaims, voice alone already being enough to quiet the redhead’s ramblings, but the waving arms certainly drive the point home, “I’m not a navigator, and I’ve never been anywhere outside of my home island on the grand line. When I was seven, my gramps moved me from there to the east blue so he could visit me more from his faraway job. I’m sorry, but I can’t answer most of the stuff you just asked.”

 

At seeing Nami pull a glum face, Luffy was quick to add, “But I can still tell you about log poses! I don’t know all the science stuff on how they work, but I can sorta tell you the basics! And I’m sure when we get closer to reverse mountain, someone could tell you more about it.”

 

It was enough to garner the girl’s excitement again. She eagerly bounces and goes to grab Luffy’s hands. Zoro can see that Nami is about to run off while pulling Luffy behind her and nearly goes to grab his friend to prevent her from doing so, but she abruptly halts herself on her own accord. Seemingly remembering Luffy’s disability, she goes for a gentle tug instead and waits for the mermaid to slowly walk alongside her. Zoro let’s the tightness in his shoulders ease.

 

“C’mon, let’s talk while we find you some outfits in this house,” Nami declared, “This place most likely belonged to an old lady, so I’m sure there’s some old fashioned modest skirts for you around here!”

 

“Hey, I don’t dress like an old lady!”

 

Zoro oversees the duo walk off into one of the rooms, now left alone in the kitchen as they chattered away about clothes and navigation. It’s nice seeing Luffy with a new friend, Zoro thinks, they were certainly excited to dress in something nicer at the very least. It’s cute.

 

He also logs away the confusing bit of information he just learned about Luffy’s past. Zoro had assumed the mermaid only recently left Fishman Island, but instead they’ve apparently been in the east blue since they were seven. The swordsman finds this hard to believe, since from what the mermaid has told him, Luffy doesn’t seem to know or have yet to experience most surface world things.

 

They’ve never seen a cat before, they got excited at the concept of tiny birds, they’ve talked about how they wanted to eat more “surface world bread” (he’ll have to thank Nami for actually giving them some), and how they really liked meat and eggs since you can’t get those underwater (not to mention some sort of cultural thing where fishmen don’t eat meat, Luffy themselves didn’t quite know the details).

 

With all of this, the only natural conclusion was that Luffy hasn’t seen a lot of the surface, but there is currently a ten year contradiction to this fact. Where on earth has Luffy been on the surface world to not know most of these things? Zoro will have to ask later.

 

Soon, once out of his thoughts and taking one last search through the kitchen to find nothing, Zoro saunters over to the room his companions are in. When he’s right outside, he hears bits of conversation through the door. Not that he wanted to eavesdrop, but everything being said wasn’t private in any way, so Zoro is able to camp out by the frame guilt free.

 

At some point, Luffy comes out with a pile of fabric in their arms and Nami trailing close behind. Luffy gives Zoro a wave and a grin upon seeing him, then goes off into another room. Nami doesn’t follow and stays in between the doorframe by the swordsman, scoffing as Luffy closes the door behind them.

 

“He’s so surprisingly modest,” She says to him, “He insisted that he should change in a separate room, no matter how much I promised that I wouldn’t turn around and look.”

 

Zoro stays silent for a moment, debating whether he should tell a lie or not. Everything they’ve told Nami so far has been half truths and vague answers, and he’d rather not lie. Luffy doesn’t seem to be the type either, but there wasn’t much Zoro could say here. Nami certainly won’t won’t buy an excitable guy like Luffy to just be shy.

 

“They just don’t like people seeing their legs,” he offers. It was close enough to the truth.

 

However, Nami seems to interpret this as something more tragic. She turns to him with a heartbroken expression and Zoro nearly cracks. He’s gonna have to explain to Luffy later why Nami is going to look at them with sad eyes all the time now.

 

“Have you….have you ever seen his legs?”

 

“.....I have.” Well, he’s seen their lower half at least.

 

Nami appears to want to ask more, inquire what Zoro knows and what he’s seen, but she respectably doesn’t. Zoro is pretty grateful for that.

 

Luckily, Luffy shortly comes back out wearing one of the skirts Nami had picked out. It was white with blue floral print on it, matching the furniture in the living room. Zoro wouldn’t be surprised if the thing was made out of the curtains.

 

“Nami, I don’t think this really suits me.”

 

Nami walks over and gives a full inspection of the piece of clothing. She’s doing all sorts of things like tugging down at the fabric, having Luffy turn around, and checking the waistband. Zoro doesn’t understand the need for any of it, and quite frankly, the level on inspection Nami was doing makes him a little nervous. But, with their earlier conversation in mind, the redhead is careful enough to not accidentally take a look at Luffy’s “legs”.

 

“Well,” she says as she straightens herself up, “it does fit you like I thought it would, but it definitely doesn’t fit your hoodie top. I don’t think anything I gave you will. Though, the only thing that really matters is getting you out of that blanket. I suppose I can just take you shopping at some point.”

 

“Yeah, that would be fun! I’ve never gone shopping with friends before.”

 

The response was quick, but Zoro catches how Nami reacts to the word “friend”. It was odd, like she couldn’t believe Luffy was so quick to call her one. He supposes the overbearing friendly demeanor could be a little intimidating to some people, so Zoro just forgets about the observation. They moved on from the subject pretty quickly anyway.

 

Eventually, the trio settles into a pattern. Luffy going to try on another skirt as Zoro and Nami make small talk by the door, the little fitting routine the redhead does once Luffy is out and they exchange more navigation tidbits, and repeat. The setting felt very comforting. It’ll never cease to amaze Zoro how comfortable Luffy makes everyone feel so quickly. Maybe it’s a mermaid thing.

 

Soon, Luffy ends up with about five or so skirts, which Nami is pretty pleased about. The one Luffy decided to wear was plain white, a contrast to all the other skirts with patterns on them. The only details on the clothing was some stitching pinching some loose ruffles into the fabric, but the simplicity suits Luffy more than anything else they had tried on.

 

There’s a moment where Luffy just talks about how they like the skirt they’re currently wearing the most while Nami takes the remaining pile of clothes from them and shoves them into Zoro’s arms. She barks an order at him to go find a bag to put them and Zoro grumbles in annoyance, but reluctantly complies. 

 

Luffy needed the skirts after all, and he will not care that Nami is snickering and whispering to Luffy on how to “effectively use a man”. No, he does not care about that at all.

 

After all of this is done, the trio will explore town for a wheelchair and enact their plan to steal treasure from Buggy.

 

Zoro just hopes it all goes well from here on out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> zoro: how the heck does luffy not know any surface world things  
> luffy, who went straight from fishman island to mt colubo and has lived in that crazy forest for his entire life: so cats are like tiny tigers right?
> 
> also, unlike canon, nami somehow still doesn't know these guys are pirates so there's that reveal still coming up
> 
> i have no drawing refs but heres some photo refs of the kind of grandma skirts luffy was trying on (the first one is the final one he wears at the end):  
> [x](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/7a/3a/28/7a3a281df00e9c855096bfd1340ee66f.jpg) [x](https://img.shopperboard.com/968600/58f494eb8c09b.jpg) [x](https://sslimages.shoppersstop.com/B8AC9759D45547D9AEF177F0DE13B7C8/img/E6B8F0B10B34492D9739281CB65910FF/203699669_9212_E6B8F0B10B34492D9739281CB65910FF.jpg)


	6. (Not so) Good with Animals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pupy time

“Hey, it looks like there’s a party happening on the rooftop over there. We should check that out!”

 

“That’s where the Buggy pirate’s main base is. We’re not going anywhere near there until we find a proper way for you to get around.”

 

“Awww, but-”

 

“No buts! This is more important, Luffy.”

 

Luffy doesn’t argue anymore after that, only quietly grumbling as Nami gave a final stern look. Zoro feels the weight on his arm tighten after that, but doesn’t mention it. Both he and Nami were getting a little annoyed at the recent behavior. Luffy had been excitedly urging the group to explore every little thing  _ except _ for the main task at hand, which is finding the mobility impaired bastard a damn wheelchair. The behavior got to the point where it became slightly overbearing, so, even if Zoro doesn’t like the mermaid’s pouty nature, he’d rather have the moody dead weight on his arm than anything else.

 

He also offers to just carry Luffy around, but they insist that they can keep up, and Nami’s snickering effectively ends any future attempts to ask again. The reason for Luffy clinging to him may have been cleared up and Nami acknowledges that the two weren’t romantically involved in anyway, but that still won’t stop her from poking fun at Zoro. The swordsman is very displeased that his emotions has become this witch’s new favorite plaything.

 

He’s also somewhat irritated that she’s treating Luffy much more nicely, even holding their hand from time to time in the brief moments the mermaid separates from Zoro’s arm to look at something.

 

He found it a little peculiar, how Nami uses masculine pronouns and seems to see Luffy as a boy, but she still treats them as a sort of gal pal friend to play dress up with, even if their styles are so vastly different. It was probably for the best. Luffy doesn’t seem to mind and it’s likely better to have someone assist them to dress a little more harmoniously. Stuff like that would help Luffy not stand out as much, and he sure as heck doesn’t know anything about fashion.

 

Suddenly, Luffy’s sharp gasp pulls Zoro from his thoughts. With his guard shooting up, he’s quick to draw Wado, but upon seeing no danger around the sword is steadily resheathed (when is he going to get to cut something?!). When he turns back to Luffy hanging on his arm, he sees not fear, but excitement.

 

“Zoro! Zoro, look! It’s a dog, a tiny baby dog!”

 

Nami, who had apparently hid behind Zoro (he really didn’t notice her there), slowly reamerges and joins Zoro’s confused stare at a tiny white dog that is certainly not….a “baby”. The dog looked old and weathered, scruffy fur and a little lethargic. It’s easy to see the little guy has been around for quite a while.

 

“Um, actually,” Zoro starts, “that dog actually looks really old, Luffy. It’s not a ba- it’s not a  _ puppy.” _

 

“It’s not?” Luffy asks, “but it’s so small, babies are just smaller versions of the grown up right? The dog I used to live with is a lot bigger than that one.”

 

Luffy had a dog?! There’s a couple more questions he’ll have to store away for later.

 

“There are different types of dogs, Luffy. The one you had was probably a different breed and the one over there is as big as  _ that _ breed gets.”

 

The information seems to sit on Luffy’s brain for a minute, slowly absorbing until they snap their fingers with understanding.

 

“Oh, I get it! Like how there’s different types of sharks and stuff, right?”

 

Finally, Nami, who is now hanging on Zoro’s other arm, says, “Have you never seen other dogs before?!”

 

Zoro tries to think up an excuse, one that doesn’t involve the ignorance coming from literally living at the bottom of the ocean, but that doesn’t stop Luffy from automatically replying with a truthful “no”. The look of disbelief on Nami is apparent, so Zoro jumps in with the first thing he could think of.

 

“They never left their home!”

 

_ What the hell does that mean?! _ Zoro chastises himself.

 

Both people, on both his arms, now turn to him. He is, quite literally, the center of attention right now. He has to finish whatever the fuck he has started.

 

“They uh- they were basically homebound. Luffy’s legs used to be a lot worse…”  _ What kind of tragic backstory am I writing?!  _ Zoro thinks,  _ Damn it, I’m not good at making up shit! _

 

Nami is shocked, then there’s that damn heartbroken expression on her face again. Zoro could start a really successful charity with that face as the cover.

 

Apparently, to the swordsman’s relief, saying the most tear-jerking thing imaginable is effective in making people not ask anymore questions. So that’s good at least. The Sad Nami Look is directed at Luffy, who is vaguely confused more than anything else, before the pity is wiped away and the girl replaces it with faux enthusiasm. It’s scary how good she is at that, Zoro notes.

 

The redhead has now let go of Zoro’s arm in favor of reaching across him to grab Luffy’s hand once again, tugging with conviction but, not forcibly.

 

“Well, c’mon!” Nami says, as she drags the mermaid off, “Let’s go see the dog, okay? We can take a little break from finding that wheelchair and they look very calm!”

 

Luffy, seemingly forgetting their own puzzlement entirely, smiles again and begins chattering away with the girl. Zoro, arms now free, just trails behind the duo, catching the small details Luffy rambles off about their own dog. The information wasn’t exactly important, some stuff about their very curly tail or the way they would always try to steal Luffy’s food, but Zoro still logs away the details. As a naturally observant man, he does it partially out of habit, but also partially out of pure interest.

 

From what he knows, Luffy’s dog was probably a cream colored shiba inu or a white akita. Either one seems rather fitting. The dog may have also been named Pochi, a ridiculously common name, Zoro thinks.

 

The trek to the tiny white dog was short, so, even with how fast Luffy talks, the amount of information revealed was rather little. The scruffy mutt was relatively relaxed when they were at a distance, sitting diligently in front of the building entrance, but now they were getting a bit more riled as the trio got closer.

 

As usual, Luffy isn’t deterred by this one bit, even reaching a hand out in an attempt to pet the dirty scruff ball, but Nami holds them back.

 

“Hold on, Luffy. They look like they’re gonna bite.”

 

As if to emphasize the point, the dog growls.

 

“Oh,” Luffy states, pausing before going into motion again, “I’m gonna still try to pet them.”

 

“NO!”

 

What follows is Nami lunging to practically hug Luffy to restrain them as Luffy’s hand stretches as far as it can towards the mutt, the dog itself now barking loudly at them as the duo argue. Luffy just continuously screamed how they “will be just fine” as Nami basically turns into a demon of vexation over their lack of self preservation. Meanwhile, Zoro doesn’t move at all during the abrupt commotion, he was just stunned by the wave of disbelief washing over him as he watches this public display of idiocy.

 

This goes on, much to Zoro’s surprise, for another five excruciating minutes until finally, an elderly man is rushing towards them. Zoro, even in his drunken stupor, was the only one out of the group to notice the man approaching. He also notices the fact that their hair somewhat resembled a poodle.

 

Now, Zoro’s not necessarily threatened by the frail looking old man, but the way he is angrily running towards them certainly raises some concern about the situation. Seeing as the green haired swordsman is the only one to acknowledge his presence, the old man specifically marches right up to him and unleashes a mighty obloquy.

 

“JUST  _ WHAT _ DO YOU YOUNGSTERS THINK YOU’RE DOING?! YOU KIDS BEST LEAVE CHOUCHOU ALONE ALREADY!”

 

Even with the man yelling so loudly, Luffy and Nami still continue to fight behind him. Zoro could only sigh, “I’m sorry, sir. I promise my friends aren’t trying to hurt the dog, they just-”

 

“ _ YOU, _ YOUNG MAN, ARE BIGGER THAN BOTH OF THOSE RASCALS COMBINED, SO I DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSES WHEN YOU JUST USELESSLY STAND THERE AND LET THEM BOTHER THIS DOG!”

 

“I- I uh….” was all Zoro was able to say as a retort, his hand going to awkwardly rub the rough and smooth texture of his short hair. As he wilts under the man’s continued scorn, Nami and Luffy’s fight has escalated to full on shoving (which looked a little weird since they’re still holding hands, probably on account of Nami not wanting to actually knock Luffy over). They didn’t even seem to be fighting over the dog anymore, they were just fighting to fight now.

 

When an especially hard push sends Luffy slamming into Zoro’s back (but with their hand still interlocked with Nami’s, they don’t fall over), the swordsman swings around and finally separates the two. The old man is now yelling at him for taking so long to do something so simple, but Zoro, now fully annoyed, shoots the man a deathly glare and puts an end to the tirade. The sudden intervention effectively silence everyone, except for the dog (or Chouchou, as Zoro now learned) who continues to lowly growl at the unfamiliar trio.

 

Zoro just ignores the mutt in favor of giving a light punch to both of his companions, chiding the two for being so rowdy. Nami looks especially ashamed, and immediately goes to apologize to the old man for disturbing his dog. On the other hand, as usual, Luffy with no manners had to be pushed to join the redhead’s beg-pardons, but the man doesn’t even recognize the efforts as he keeps his attention on Zoro.

 

“Young man, you shouldn’t hit girls like that!”

 

The swordsman groans, he hates people like this. “Calm down, those two are tougher than you think and I didn’t even hit them that hard anyway.”

 

The only thing he gets in return is a scoff with a mumbling of “kids these days” and the subject is laid to rest. Nami is the one to take the conversation onto the next topic.

 

“So who are you? You and this dog don’t seem like buggy pirates, and I thought all the citizens had evacuated.”

 

“I should be asking you lads the same questions, but fine,” the old man takes a moment and walks past the group to the old building Chouchou stood proudly in front of. He slowly sinks down onto the porch, the little white mutt moving to diligently sit beside the man as he speaks again, “My name is Boodle. I’m the mayor of this town, and came to check on Chouchou here. He’s not my dog, he just refused to leave with everyone else so now I come every so often to feed him.”

 

Zoro inquires, “How come he won’t leave?”

 

A sigh. “He’s protecting the shop here, you see? It belonged to Chouchou’s owner.”

 

Boodle taps the porch he’s sitting on a couple times as he says this, directing the trio to look up at the actual shop itself. The building was rather short and humble, if not a little shabby, and the sign was decorated with drawings of little paw prints and a bag with a happy dog on it.

 

“It’s a pet shop,” Luffy states.

 

“That’s right, young lady…. This store is very important to Chouchou, so he stays here to protect it.”

 

“So where’s the owner?”

 

The prolong silence at Luffy’s question was all the answer they need. When the moment passes, Nami, once again, picks the conversation back up.

 

“So…. Chouchou is protecting the store, waiting for his owner to come home?”

 

“I don’t think so, Chouchou is a very smart dog. He probably already knows Hocker is gone, but he still carries out his duties and won’t budge from this spot.”

 

With that, another moment of silence is upon them, this time in reflection rather than mourning. And then, Luffy actually makes their way over to the dog. Nami is about to stop them again, but she decides not to and let Luffy do whatever they want.

 

They crouch down once in front of Chouchou, their hand steadying their balance against the wall of the pet shop as they slink down. Then, that same hand goes to pet the mutt and, to everyone’s surprise the dog lets them.

 

Chouchou leans into the pet, actually encouraging Luffy to softly rub the top of his head more, to which they obliged. Zoro can see them say something to the animal in a soft tone, too soft for him and Nami to hear from where they stand, but Boodle was close enough to listen and a content look crosses his face. Whatever it is Luffy said to the dog, it seemed to be pleasant, Zoro concludes.

 

Then suddenly, in a very abrupt manner, Luffy turns and is frantically pushing themselves back up while staring past Zoro and Nami, presumably looking at whatever Boodle was staring at now as well. The color of wonder is all that is painted on the mermaid’s face, but the old mayor had nothing but wild terror within his. Even without looking, Zoro could  _ sense _ the newcomer. The presence felt powerful, especially so to be able to scare Nami.

 

Luffy enthusiastically points high at the subject, and with the most jubilant tone, exclaims, “Oh!! That’s a cat right?”

 

Zoro and Nami have yet to turn around, and when a large shadow looms over them, the swordsman is able to keep his cool far better than the trembling redhead. Even so, despite the vast difference in bravery, they both slowly turn simultaneously to face what’s behind them.

  
It absolutely, positively, unequivocally, in  _ no _ way, a cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for updating at like 2am lol shout out to my insomniac readers


	7. The Strength of a Mermaid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry it took me so long to update its not even a long chapter it just took me a long time to get to this enjoy

“Luffy, no. That’s not a cat, it’s a  _ lion. _ ”

 

“Well it’s….it’s kind of a cat…”

 

“Shut up, saying stuff like that will just confuse them!”

 

“Oh, I get it! So if it’s not a cat, a lion is like a baby tiger right? It’s like the uh….the pubby word you used earlier for the dog! Right, Zoro?”

 

The swordsman doesn’t know how much more of this he can take. “A lion is a completely different animal than a tiger, Luffy. Not to mention, this is actually  _ much larger _ than the average lion, so whatever huge tiger you’re comparing this to really shouldn’t be the standard!” he clarifies, then quickly adds, “Also, it’s  _ puppy _ .”

 

Though, the explanation was entirely ignored as the mermaid just points upwards at the beast and says, “why is there a guy dressed as a bear on top of it?”

 

Zoro really needs to sit down with Luffy and just figure out what animals the guy does and doesn’t know because this was getting ridiculous, but when he looks up, he finds that Luffy was right. There really is a guy dressed as a bear up there.

 

Nami and Boodle have noticed too, faces contorted into judgement and confusion. The man in question seems rather irritated by all the sudden scrutinizing gazes. It was kind of ridiculous, they were all so focused on the giant lion that this nonsensical joke of a person went unnoticed.

 

“Why  _ is _ he dressed like that?”

 

“It is rather odd, maybe it’s just part of the theme?”

 

“Well, from what I know, the Buggy pirates  _ are  _ circus themed so…”

 

“How rude you all are!” the Bear-Man shouts, “this is just my hair!”

 

The public shame does not yeild.

 

Bear-Man becomes incredibly enraged by this, like an actual bear, he growls at the group. “You bastards! My pet, Richie was only interested in the pet food store, so I wasn’t going to bother you fools as long as you didn’t bother us, but now you’ve pissed me off. Now, none of you will live! RICHIE!!”

 

At Bear-Man’s call, the lion roars and charges at them. Zoro readies himself, but once again (he should just expect this at this point), Luffy beats him to the literal punch as they use the same strange technique they used before. “Ocean technique” battle cry and all.

 

Just like before, the mermaid’s fist does not connect with the target, but the lion is still launched back by the sheer force alone. Zoro will have to ask what exactly that attack is, but it’s powerful whatever it is.

 

Ricky-or-Whatever-the-Lion’s-Name-Was crashes into a nearby building along with Bear-Man. Zoro almost thinks Bear-Man may have been crushed by the impact until he sees him weakly crawl out from the rubble. He looks dazed. Meanwhile, Nami and Boodle are just impressed. Even if Nami has already seen this attack, the wonder of it certainly still has it’s hold. Hell, as cool as he may act, Zoro’s probably unconsciously gawking too.

 

“How are you so strong when you can barely walk?” Nami inquires.

 

“Oh, ummm if I can’t train my....legs, I train my arms?”

 

“Ah, I suppose that makes sense.”

 

“ARE YOU BASTARDS REALLY GOING TO ATTACK AND IGNORE ME?!”

 

Oh right, Bear-Man’s still alive. He’s completely freed himself from the rubble now and works to pull a large beam of wood off of the lion.

 

“You guys are going to regret this,” he says, climbing on top of the now freed lion, “Once I get Buggy here, it’ll be over for you guys!”

 

Then, he and the lion starts to trot away much to Luffy’s disappointment, “Aw, I thought he was gonna fight.”

 

“SHUT UP, I WILL ONCE I GET REINFORCEMENT! I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DID, BUT IT’S CLEARLY A DEVIL FRUIT ABILITY AND I’M SMARTER THAN TO TAKE YOU ON ALONE!”

 

And then he skitters off. Luffy huffs in resignation.

 

Reaching to the conclusion of the strange encounter, a collective thought of  _ “well that happened” _ falls over the group. A prolonged silence sits upon them as they let this sink in. Zoro supposes that the Buggy pirates will come to them now. Ah…. wait.

 

Zoro turns to the mayor, “Hey, my friend here needs a wheelchair. Is there a hospital around here we can get that from? We should probably get it before those pirates come after us.”

 

Boodle has a moment of confusion before lighting up, “Ah, that’s right! The young lady over there mentioned something about your friend being barely able to walk,” an exhale, “I’m sorry, I would love to help but I don’t think we have anything like a wheelchair in our tiny clinic. This is a very small town, even our elderly citizens don’t need walkers for such short distances here.”

 

“That’s okay!” Luffy answers, “I can manage without one for now!”

 

“I hope so, young lady.”

 

“Oh, by the way,” Nami says, “Luffy, that bear guy said something about you having a devil fruit. Is that true? Those things exists?”

 

“Oh yeah, East Blue doesn’t even know about devil fruits. This place really is closed off, shi shi! But no, my ocean techniques aren’t a devil fruit ability. That’s a combination of my mer-”

 

Zoro had given them a pat on the back to subtly catch the mistake.

 

“My…. my haki! I combine my punches with haki.”

 

“Haki? What’s that?” Nami inquires. In all honesty, Zoro’s curious as well.

 

“Gee, East Blue really doesn’t know anything. Haki is this energy thing that everyone has and can be used in fighting! Um… like this!”

 

With that, Luffy holds out their arm and clenches their fist, focusing. Suddenly, their arm is covered in a shiny black, astonishing everyone. Luffy, as usual, continues on as though everything is normal.

 

“There’s different kinds of haki, this one’s called armament! I can tell you more about this stuff later though, it looks like there’s something coming towards us.”

 

“WHAT?!”

 

At the exclamation, Luffy just casually points to a direction and they all turn to look.

 

What they see, to their horror, is a giant red cannonball hurtling towards them.

 

Zoro turns to Luffy, “I assume you’re going to handle this too?”

 

A grin. “Yeah! Let me show you the power of haki.”

 

Without another word, Luffy faces towards the oncoming projectile and pulls the still haki coated hand back. “Armament!”

 

The first lunges forward, producing another overwhelming shockwave that nearly sends everyone nearby backwards. The cannonball actually connects with Luffy’s fist, but the haki causes his arm to act as a wall. The sheer force of energy of the impact becoming oppressive.

 

“ICE PISTOL!!”

 

With a final burst of force, the cannonball is sent back to the sender. Nami and Boodle could only gawk as it explodes on the rooftop it was launched from, but Zoro could only grin with excitement at the display of strength.

 

He really picked up a rather interesting person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> luffy: *displays an incredible feat of power*  
> zoro: holy shit nice im gay


	8. Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> buggy time

“Luffy!!” Nami exclaims as she shakes the poor mermaid, “That was the rooftop where the Buggy pirates are, what if you just blew up the treasure!”

 

“Ah, sorry Nami…”

 

Zoro cuts in, “Calm down, why don’t we just go over there and find out. There’s nothing to worry about, right?”

 

“Well, I  _ had _ a plan, but I suppose this could work as well….”

 

“Then let’s go!” Luffy says, “ADVENTURE!!”

 

They start eagerly tugging on Nami to encourage her to support their endeavor to run off, but of course the redhead is responsible enough to not allow it.

 

“Wait for us, Luffy. There’s no need to split up. Zoro!”

 

“Yeah yeah, let’s go”

 

The swordsman begins his trek alongside the duo only to be stopped by the old mayor grabbing his arm.

 

“H-hold on, young man! Are you youngsters going to fight the Buggy pirates?!”

 

“I mean sure, assuming they weren’t obliterated by their own cannonball that is,” Zoro replies.

 

“Now wait! I don’t care how strong you kids are, I am still the mayor of this town and I will not allow strangers to put their lives on the line for us while I stand to the sidelines! Allow me to fight with you.”

 

“Hold on, don’t you think you’re a little too old to-”

 

“I may be an old man, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeves! Let me get my armor and I’ll defend this town alongside you!”

 

Before Zoro could even reply, Boodle runs off without another word. The trio now stand alone with Chouchou still off to the side. The dog watches Boodle disappear into the distance, but eventually he goes back to his diligent stance in front of the store. Soon, Luffy speaks up.

 

“We should go right now, I don’t want that old man fighting and if we take out Buggy before he even catches up then that’s fine, right?”

 

“He has a point….”

 

Zoro scoffs, “Yeah, alright. Let’s go save the town then.”

 

✦✦✦

 

The three finally arrive to the rubble of the building. They dealt with a couple of Buggy’s henchmen lurking along the way so they knew this was where they needed to be.

 

Now in front of the wreckage, Luffy is set down on the ground. For the sake of time, Zoro had carried the mermaid the whole way to make it to their destination as fast as possible, much to Luffy's dismay but they knew it was necessary (and Nami was sure to make a snide comment about it too).

 

The cannonball certainly did a number in damage, the dust was still fresh and remnants of balloons and colorful fabric littered the area. They really did blow up some sort of circus party. There's a couple of survivors crawling out of the mess, which causes the trio to stay on guard, but they just skitter away upon seeing Zoro's threatening aura so it's rather pointless. They look around for any opponents of note but nothing reveals itself. The only thing of interest is the shiny pile spilling out of the left side of the rubble.

 

“Hey, Nami look. The treasure seems to be alright.” Luffy points out.

 

“Oh!” The navigator’s eyes are lighting up, “You're right! Oh, this could easily be five million beri  _ at least! _ ”

 

She sprints over to it, despite Zoro's protests to not separate, and scoops up handfuls of the gold and jewels. Numbers seem to run in her head, not that Zoro could make any sense of it (they all look the same to him after all), and she grows excited at the increasing total.

 

“Leave it to Buggy to have good quality treasure, I underestimated this amount!”

 

Zoro watches as Nami pulls a large cloth bag from the pocket of her skirt ( _ I guess she's prepared as a thief, _ he thinks) and starts shoveling the money into it. He's about to leave her to it and goes to tell Luffy to start searching through the rubble with him, but then he hears a screech and whips over to see a hand come out of the treasure pile grab Nami’s arm.

 

Tension rising, Wado is drawn and Zoro goes to help, but he is halted as another shriek interrupts him, this time from Luffy. The swordsman turns around again and there he sees a hand tugging at the mermaid's skirt. _ A dismembered hand. _

 

Freakiness aside, the hand is insistent at the hem of the fabric, and with no way to kick or bend down, Luffy is left to meekly pull against it as their only defense.

 

Whatever, Zoro is closer to Luffy, so he delivers a swift kick and propels the hand away. At the same time, there's a reaction on Nami’s end as another shriek, accompanied by a  _ more masculine _ one, erupts. Zoro looks over just in time to see a clown(?) jump out of the treasure, but even for a clown, his appearance was odd.

 

He doesn't have enough time to pinpoint it though, as Nami immediately retaliates by pulling three rods from under her skirt (that short little thing has everything!) and has it automatically assemble for her to harshly wack the newcomer.

 

“That's a devil fruit ability.” Zoro hears behind him.

 

Luffy cooly walks up next to him, wrenching a knife from the same dismembered hand from before.

 

“I guess they can separate themselves or something, the hand came back floating and tried to stab Zoro in the back.”

 

Knife now free, Luffy grips the hand tightly with enough strength to break bones. Zoro almost cringes when he hears a crack. As expected, the clown on Nami’s end reacts again, screaming from the pain he feels. He catapults himself up, and Zoro can now see that he was missing several body parts. A torso and a pair of legs come up to reattach themselves as he flips himself towards Luffy, the surprise causing the mermaid to release the hand and it immediately returns to its owner.

 

“THAT FUCKING HURTS YOU BASTARDS!!”

 

“Yeah, that was the point. I noticed you still feel pain even though your body parts are separated. So what is your power exactly? It looks weird.”

 

“Hng, my hand! I THINK YOU BROKE MY HAND!!”

 

Luffy huffs, tossing the knife aside, “Aw, and here I thought you were going to be a tough opponent….”

 

That seems to cause the clown to snap. He’s furious now as he pulls a sword from the belt of his pants. This causes Nami to take a calculated step back.

 

“WHY YOU-” He cries out, flying over Nami towards the mermaid, “I AM CAPTAIN BUGGY, POSSESSOR OF THE CHOP-CHOP FRUIT AND I’LL SHOW YOU HOW STRONG I AM.”

 

Zoro instinctively wants to intervene, but he knows the mermaid wouldn't need it. Of course, Luffy proves him right as they dodge Buggy with ease despite their limited mobility. It was as though they saw the attack before it happened.

 

Then, they stare Buggy right into his eyes and Zoro sees how the clown suddenly shudders and falls to the ground, dropping his weapons. The swordsman couldn't fully comprehend what happened, it looked like Luffy just took down the pirate from a glare alone and even if Buggy was a weak coward, that seemed a bit much.

 

Writhing on the ground, Buggy seemed like he was about to pass out, but with the last of his will, he pushes himself up and faces the mermaid.

 

“T-that- that was Conqueror’s Haki! It felt just like when that bastard Shanks would accidentally hit me with it while he was still learning to control it, but how can there be a haki user in the East Blue!?”

 

So that's another form of haki? Zoro thinks. It seems he still has a lot to learn. The Grand Line is full of abilities and techniques he's never even heard of. The man he is aiming for is a warlord that regularly sails the Grand Line, is this the kind of power he faces everyday? Are these the kind of techniques he uses? Zoro could not even begin to comprehend how to fight against an opponent like that, an opponent like Luffy. How naive. He’s been playing in the kiddy pool for far too long, fooling himself into believing he’s ready from these small fry. He sees now that the gap is too large.

 

He's not strong enough.

 

“Wait, did you say Shanks?! You know Shanks?” Luffy inquires, leaning down to look at the other pirate.

 

“Yeah, I used to sail on the same ship as that idiot and he made me eat that stupid devil fruit and lose my treasure map! I'll never forgive him, in fact that vile thing on your head is reminiscent of that asshole.”

 

Luffy seems to just ignore all the ill words just said as they go on to say, “Yeah it's Shanks’ hat! He's a really nice guy and gave it to me as a promise to become king, it's my treasure!”

 

“Tch, you even sound like the guy, always spouting nonsense about what is and isn't treasure. After all, TREASURE IS OBVIOUSLY THINGS LIKE GOLD AND JEWELS SO IF YOU CAN’T EVEN RECOGNIZE THAT, THEN YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE KING!”

 

Everything that happens next goes so quickly. Buggy is suddenly brandishing a knife, the one Luffy threw aside earlier, and rockets his hand upwards right at Luffy's face. They don't have as much time to react as before. In a desperate attempt, the mermaid just barely dodges the attack by flailing backwards but it still nicks their forehead and slashes the brim of the straw hat wide open. Luffy is momentarily dazed by the damage. They're falling now. Zoro doesn't even realize that he's moving until he slashes at Buggy and catches Luffy in one fluid motion, but the clown seems to be unharmed as they simply fly away, reassembling himself in the air.

 

“Nice try, but that won't work on me. Now if you excuse me, I am going to protect my  _ worthwhile _ treasure, and I won't fail like you with that pathetic hat!”

 

And then, he flings himself towards Nami, who had stuffed her bag full and was on her way to run off with the earnings. With her hands full, she was in trouble, but Luffy was still staring at their hat. Zoro wouldn't make it in time. Even if he could, he wouldn't know what to do with his swords rendered useless and-

 

A wave of willpower promptly washes over him. He feels himself nearly faint, finding his body almost leaning onto  _ Luffy _ for support. His head feels fuzzy, his hears an unbearable ringing in his ears, and he barely registers a thud in the distance, but all he could focus on was holding on to Luffy. It was all he had to brace himself against the cotton in his brain, pushing its way through his consciousness. It soaked up everything, his signals to his joints, the energy to his knees. He finds it harder to stay in touch with his own form.

 

This power. It felt sharp against his skin but his insides were turning to mush. He may as well not have bones anymore as his legs begin to loosen and shake. Stomach stirring, Zoro could almost feel himself vomit trying resisting the aura overtaking him. He had to stay awake. He had to stay alive. He had to- he had to….

 

He had to open his eyes. Abruptly, the willpower that had caused them to shut was now ebbing away and all Zoro soon felt was something warm on his cheek. Spirit still weak, he unconsciously leans into the comforting warmth before his eyelids finally decided to move.

 

What he sees is Luffy's face, concerned and guilty, extremely close. They were practically on the verge of tears. Their unruly black hair was entirely exposed now with the damaged straw hat in their hand, and the other is outstretched forward. Then, jolting out of his haze, Zoro realizes that it's Luffy's hand on his cheek and becomes a bit embarrassed. He lifts his face from the soft palm, so the hand slowly goes to rest on his shoulder instead, eye contact maintained the entire time.

 

“I'm sorry,” Luffy says, “I didn't mean to hit you with that too.”

 

So that experience was because of Luffy. Of course it was because of Luffy.

 

“Conqueror’s Haki.”

 

“Yeah,” they simply confirm, “that's what it was.”

 

The mermaid looks down at the swordsman’s feet, guilt becoming more apparent, “I'm not very good at focusing it on one target yet. I accidentally hit Nami with it too and she fainted….”

 

Automatically, Zoro looks over to the treasure pile to see Buggy completely passed out in the dirt, Nami a few feet away with the same fate on top her bag of gold. He is in awe of what he sees, looking around to even see nearby straggling henchmen and Boodle (huh, he must've shown up right as Luffy unleashed that attack) have fallen over from the wave of haki.

 

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I did a really weak one earlier to avoid hurting you guys but he must've been used to Shanks’ haki I guess so it didn't completely work and I was just so angry about my hat and I wasn't focusing enough and I-”

 

“You're amazing….” Zoro nearly whispers.

 

“What?” Luffy's gaze snaps back up at that.

 

“I- I mean,  _ that  _ was amazing. The amount of strength you have is incredible, you're so strong!”

 

“I….” Luffy starts, feeling a little bashful at the praise, “I mean, I'm not the only one. You're strong too! Zoro was also really incredible there.”

 

“Huh? What are you talking about? I haven't gotten a single chance to show off the moment we got to this island, how can you boast about a display of strength that never happened.”

 

“Silly Zoro, you showed off plenty. After all, you didn't faint.”

 

The swordsman stutters at that. Glancing around at all the unconscious people again, he realizes that it  _ is _ unusual that he didn't fall. He had been right next to Luffy, holding onto them even, enduring the whole flood of willpower that overtook this town, but his resolve didn't come undone. For a moment there, he had doubted his ability and potential, but he shouldn't have. After all, he was still awake. He was still here with Luffy.

 

He didn't faint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> zoro: youre really strong!  
> luffy: youre really strong too!  
> pigeon meme guy: is this flirting?


	9. Gifts are Always Nice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah im not too confident in this chapter but whatever

Nami roused from her sleep to find herself tucked in a small little bed. This place is unknown to her. There’s a glass on the nightstand next to her, with a drink presumably for her but she doesn’t dare drink it. The plain white blanket on top of her smells vaguely of fish for some reason, and she looks around to see a tiny, non descriptive room that was dimly lit. It looks like any other room, but the light bobbing of her whole surroundings easily tells the navigator that she is on the water.

 

She starts to feel tense.

 

She doesn’t know how she got here, the last thing Nami remembers was that dismembered clown flying towards her and then she-

 

She’s not on Buggy’s ship is she?!

 

Oh god, has she been kidnapped? She doesn’t remember how she fainted, but why would they kidnap her? Nami feels a dead stone of dread in her stomach. This can’t possibly be happening, she’s not chained or trapped so she shouldn’t jump to conclusions. That’s right, she’s fine! If she finds the door is unlocked, that means she’s not a prisoner, right?

 

But what if it’s not fine, where were those other two? Were they really strong enough to take down Buggy and his strange ability, could she trust them with that kind of task?

 

A million thoughts and possibilities ran through her head, feeling the panic strike her. There was just so much to worry about. She hoped Luffy was okay at least, and the treasure she collected.

 

At the thought of her friend and money’s safety, Nam franticallyi springs out of the bed. She has to check the door and confirm the situation.

 

With her grip on the handle, the knob easily turns and she slams the door open.

 

The door swings fast enough to make a tremendous  _ bang  _ as it smacks into the wall, but a yelp of pain makes Nami realize the door only swung open halfway, and the “wall” that was hit was actually a person.

 

Specifically Zoro.

 

✦✦✦

 

“Ow.”

 

“Sorry….”

 

Well, Zoro is seventy percent sure his nose is broken now. He was just going to check on Nami but the navigator had just burst through like an angry bull seeing red. At least she seems to immediately calm down upon seeing the swordsman. Before, she looked ready to tear the whole ship apart.

 

Nose still sore, Zoro wants to ask how she was doing, but the redhead is so engrossed in looking over the whole ship he decides to just let her. She was probably noticing how big and empty it was, and wondering if there was anyone else onboard. It didn’t make sense for him and Luffy to have the whole thing to themselves after all.

 

Speaking of Luffy, the mermaid suddenly appears from the kitchen and instantly starts shuffling over.

 

“Zoro!! Why didn’t you tell me Nami was awake!” the moment the girl was within their arms length, they pull her into a tight hug, “NAAAAAAMI!!”

 

“Ah, Luffy! It’s good to see you’re okay!”

 

Nami doesn’t really hug back, but Luffy’s strength and enthusiasm more than makes up for it. If they could, Zoro was sure the mermaid would lift her off the ground and swing her around. They’re both laughing and it was rather sweet to see.

 

“Luffy, Luffy, alright now, you can let go now. Yes, I’m happy to see you too! No look, see? I’m fine!”

 

At those words, Luffy reluctantly releases Nami and starts sputtering near nonsensical apologies for making her pass out. They are immensely remorseful. Nami could only catch bits and pieces of the jumble, not fully understanding the situation, and turns to Zoro for a clearer explanation.

 

He huffs, rubbing away the last of his pain before giving her and answer, “Luffy accidentally knocked you out with this thing called Conqueror’s Haki, they said they weren’t very good at concentrating on one target yet so you got caught in the crossfire. They’ve been really sad about it.”

 

She nods in understanding, then goes back to Luffy, “It’s okay, I forgive you. Besides, all it did was make me faint, right? So no biggie!”

 

Luffy is placated by that. They nod, accepting the forgiveness, and give a big grin as Nami inquire about other things to Zoro.

 

“So, where are we?”

 

“We’re still docked in Orange Town, you’re the only one here who knows how to sail so we were waiting for you to wake up.”

 

“I see, and the treasure?”

 

“We brought the bag you stuffed!” Luffy helpfully chimes in.

 

“Just one bag?”

 

“I mean yeah, you only filled up one. Besides, I wanted to leave the rest behind for the townsfolk so they can rebuild!”

 

“Luffy! I wanted _ all  _ of the treasure.”

 

“Huh, but why? That sack already has more than enough, you don’t need _ that _ much.”

 

Nami just sighs, letting her head hang in sorrow. Her short hair frames her lowered face, hiding it from view as she remains quiet. Zoro gets a sense of something deeper to the reaction, but he doesn’t say anything. It’s not his problem. Then, she abruptly snaps back up with determination.

 

“Let’s go back! We can pick up more treasure before we leave.”

 

“Yeah no,” Zoro says, “Luffy’s Conqueror’s Haki knocked out the mayor too and the townsfolk showed up so they are very mad at us now. We actually shouldn’t even be here right now.”

 

“I also already said they could have it.”

 

The redhead groans at the news, feeling defeated.  _ She really wanted that money, _ Zoro supposes. Nami had only known the two for a few hours and she already looked immensely tired. It seemed like her mood was going to be sour for hours now, but then Luffy takes Nami’s hands and speaks in the most encouraging tone.

 

“Hey, it’s okay! We can always get more treasure, and I did get you something from the pile…”

 

Zoro actually doesn’t known about this, Luffy must’ve picked this up while he was working out how to carry both Nami and the money on his back. Balancing them was a difficult feat to pull off. He hadn’t been paying attention to what Luffy was doing at all. Now, the mermaid sticks their hand into their pocket, momentarily searching, before pulling out a thick gold bangle and slipping it onto the navigator’s wrist.

 

“There, it’s pretty!”

 

Actually, the bracelet was rather simple. It was just a smooth, solid gold band all the way around. No carvings, no jewels, no intricate designs, just plain. Once again, Zoro has zero clue on these types of things, but the simple gesture of a gift seems to be enough to warm Nami.

 

A sappy smile spread on her face to match Luffy’s thousand watt one, and she starts cooing thank-you’s and compliments as she affectionately rubbed their cheeks. Luffy doesn’t seem to fully comprehend where the friendliness is coming from, but that doesn’t stop them from laughing up a storm under the attention.

 

Despite no longer paying attention to the antics, Zoro still grins a little at the display while he’s looking off to the side, listening to them squabble. A second later, the voices cease and Nami saunters into his view, proudly wearing the bangle.

 

“So, you guys were waiting for me to navigate, right?”

 

“Yeah, and we should probably sail soon since those towns people want us gone.”

 

“Anywhere specific?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Alright, fine by me.”

 

“Yay!! Nami is gonna be our navigator!!” Luffy interjects, excitedly waving their arms around.

 

“Of course,” she says, “we agreed to team up for awhile.”

 

“Nami should just join the crew.”

 

“Ha ha, crew?”

 

“Yeah, Join my pirate crew!”

 

The change was immediate, Zoro notices. All the carefreeness has drained away from Nami and she becomes stressed, rigid. She is suddenly very uncomfortable, looking at the two of them with great scrutiny. She takes a step back from the two of them with analytical eyes. Her guard is up and Zoro is hyper aware of it.

 

“.......You’re pirates?” she asks, a near shakiness in her voice almost unnoticeable.

 

“Yeah!” Luffy answers, still jubilant, “It’s just me and Zoro right now though. You wanna join?”

 

“NO! I HATE PIRATES” is her outburst. She says it with such angry conviction and certitude that Zoro worries she may just start swinging. But, he sees uncertainty. Even through her rage, he knows she won’t do it.

 

“Oh….well, would you still help us sail?”

 

Zoro delivers a light smack to Luffy for the request, “Oi, read the mood.”

 

Though, despite correcting the mermaid’s ignorance, Nami seems to have calmed down and has become remorseful for her statement. Even with what she said, Zoro can still see she looks at Luffy fondly, rubbing the band around her wrist. Regardless of her views, it’s undeniable that she likes them. They’re friends after all.

 

She actually contemplates the request.

 

Zoro speaks up, “we’re not gonna force you or anything, so you don’t have to-”

 

“No, I’ll do it.”

 

“REALLY?” Luffy shouted.

 

“Yes,” she responds, without missing a beat, “I’ll navigate you guys, but I won’t join your crew. Don’t get the wrong idea. This is a temporary arrangement and I’m only sticking around for Luffy.”

 

“You’re not worried about them being a pirate?” Zoro asks.

 

“No, even if you guys say that, I think he’s alright. He likes me too much to be a threat.”

 

“Shi shi!”

 

“See what I mean?”

 

She walks around the deck of the ship, independence to her step, and looks out into the sea. 

 

“This doesn’t mean we’re friends though. Especially _ you _ ,” she points to Zoro, “You’re still pirates, so don’t get used to me. This is only a team up, I’m not joining.”

 

“Yay!! Nami is a part of our crew!!” Luffy says.

 

“Hey, listen to me!”

 

With that, Zoro leave those two to their own devices and starts preparations to set everything in motion. Once the anchor was drawn and they were sailing, it wasn’t long before Nami starts barking navigational orders and he’s pulling random ropes to control the ship. Nami helps as well a little, scrambling to the positions Luffy can’t make in time. This ship was certainly too big for just the three of them, but the seas were mostly calm so the activity was limited.

 

Nami said that she was directing them to a nearby island, saying it’s best to prepare before heading straight to the Grand Line. Luffy is fine with that plan, saying they wanted to see more of the East Blue before they leave. On the other hand, Zoro couldn’t care less where they go, wherever Luffy wants will be fine for him.

 

So they sail on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all my files relating to this fic are abbreviated to soytf which i always read as soy the fuck
> 
> nami and luffy friendship is very important to me, theyre best pals


	10. Welcome to Syrup Village

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry for taking so long to update, i dont even really have an excuse im just not a great writer and was straight up stuck for a good while and didnt know how to progress
> 
> writing is hard

They arrive to an island with a town Nami calls “Syrup Village”, the bangle on her wrist glinting as she points to civilization ahead.

 

“So this is the place?” Luffy asks, their hat sporting a fresh line of stitches from the base to the edge of the brim. Nami had fixed it up at some point during the journey.

 

“Yeah,” the navigator responds, “It’s a quaint little place but certainly bigger than Orange Town. It's also, you know, not  _ abandoned _ so we’re sure to have a better chance of finding supplies.”

 

“Maybe we’ll recruit a fourth member here!”

 

“Hey, I already told you I’m not joining! We talked about this….”

 

Staring out into the water, Zoro just tunes out the rest of the squabble as they near the island. Nami’s denial has become a broken record to him at this point. But, as the town comes closer into view, Zoro could see that even with smaller buildings, it stretches across a far larger span of land than the last town. It was certainly promising, Zoro thinks. He hopes that they can find a wheelchair here, or at the very least some booze.

 

✦✦✦ 

 

Once docked, the trio makes their way onto the beach, Zoro helping to support Luffy on the more loose sand. Nami walks ahead a little, but patiently waits for them in intervals. Although, they get about halfway across the beach until someone calls out to them.

 

“Hey! You guys down there, welcome to Syrup Village!”

 

Looking up, Zoro sees a boy with a ridiculously long nose excitedly waving at them. He’s sat near the edge of the rock wall under a tree.

 

Despite the minimal view from their position, the swordsman could still make out under the shade of the tree that Long Nose had dark skin and overalls, seemed to be about Luffy’s age, and had what looked to be a slingshot in his other hand.

 

Though, the thing that seems to catch Zoro’s attention the most was the generic little pirate flag flown at the base of the tree. It seemed to be hand painted.

 

Luffy doesn’t take a single second for observation though. At the greeting, they immediately release a hand holding onto Zoro to enthusiastically wave back while laughing.

 

Long Nose, taking notice of Luffy, momentarily looks surprised. He backs away from the ledge and disappears from view for a moment, before reappearing at a nearby slope. He slides down it with practiced ease and starts sprinting towards them. Specifically Zoro and Luffy.

 

“Hey,” Long Nose says once he’s in front of them, “is….”

 

He pointedly looks at the mermaid, almost scrutinizingly. It makes Zoro a little nervous that they’ve somehow been found out.

 

“.....Is  _ she _ okay?”

 

_ Ah, _ Zoro thinks, _ he was just having a pronoun issue. _ The word “she” was so emphasized in the boy’s tone, presenting itself as an obvious mistake to invite a correction if needed. But Luffy couldn’t care less about that, so Zoro promptly ignores the silent  _ “what are your pronouns” _ plea and carries on. He doesn’t feel like explaining this to every new person they meet.

 

“Yeah, they just can’t walk very well.”

 

A calculating look crosses Long Nose’s face.

 

“That’s actually why we’re here,” Nami adds, “We’re trying to find a wheelchair for him.”

 

Zoro snickers a little when Long Nose’s eyes raise a bit at the details of the statement, but he seems to recover quickly, which the swordsman admires.

 

“Ah alright! Well, we certainly have those around here so don’t worry. My friend actually used to use one, maybe she’ll even give it to you!”

 

“Woah, really!?” Luffy says.

 

“Would she really just give it to us for free?” Nami comments.

 

“Yeah, no worries. Just between you and me, she’s kinda loaded and she’d be more than happy to help some nice people.”

 

“Woah,” Luffy says, “you hear that, Zoro? We’re nice people!”

 

“Yeah,” he turns to Long Nose, somewhat sternly, “You are very trusting of us….”

 

Another calculating expression sits on Long Nose’s face. As silly as the boy may seem, Zoro can tell he is also an observant person much like himself. Albeit, in his own lesser way. But the ability of observation needs to come with the ability to answer. As Long Nose tries his hardest to decipher the hidden meaning in his words, Nami interrupts.

 

“Okay, Zoro. Quit scaring him. Don’t mind our friend, he’s just perpetually scary.”

 

Long Nose is taken aback, but seeing the swordsman’s aloof demeanor, he decides to take the girl’s word for it. He sputters out a shaky “o-okay” and turns back to Luffy.

 

“So. Wheelchair. I can hook you up.”

 

“Yay!!” The mermaid exclaims, bringing his natural cheerfulness back to the conversation, “Thanks, you’re a really cool guy. My name’s Luffy.”

 

“Oh, nice name. Mine’s Usopp.”

 

“Huh?” And just like that, it comes to a stop.

 

Zoro looks down to be greeted by Luffy’s contemplative expression hanging on his arm. They’re struggling to remember something.

 

“What’s wrong?” Zoro asks.

 

“I don’t know. The name Usopp just sounds really familiar….”

 

✦✦✦

 

“Ha ha! No way, I can’t believe you know my dad!”

 

“I can’t believe I actually  _ met _ you in the East Blue, your dad talked my ear off about you while I was in the Grand Line!!”

 

“Dude, it’s incredible that you’re  _ from _ the Grand Line!”

 

Zoro watches as Luffy and Usopp continue to talk nonstop on the other side of the booth. Their boisterous voices fill the bar they are resting in, indulging in some food and drinks. Nami sits next to him, breathing an airy laugh.

 

“Small world, can you believe it?”

 

The swordsman takes a sip from his booze, “Yeah, that really is amazing.”

 

Luffy and Usopp continue to chat and chat. The mermaid chatters on about a place called Party Bar in his home, the swordsman occasionally nudging them under the table with his foot to avoid revealing any fishfolk details. Zoro has heard parts of this story, about Shanks and his crew visiting Fishman Island, but he never would’ve imagined that they would meet a child of a crew member. Just like his dad, Usopp is apparently a sniper, which Zoro could definitely see. The man has an eye for detail.

 

“You know,” Luffy says through a mouthful of steak, “you’re really cool, Usopp! You should join my crew!”

 

“Crew?”

 

“Yeah, we’re-”

 

“Luffy-” Nami tries to interject.

 

“-pirates!”

 

“PIRATES?!”

 

Instantaneously, Usopp springs out of his seat like a startled cat. That toy slingshot is back in his hand and ammo is locked and loaded with incredible speed. He aims straight for Luffy, who only slowly rises from their seat in response. On the other side, Nami just tiredly sighs. This was the exact reaction she was trying to avoid.

 

Usopp shakes at an exorbitant frequency, his hand trembling around his weapon. Off to a side, a waiter has taken notice of the commotion as they were the only patrons currently in the bar, but Nami has already gone off to mediate. Meanwhile, Luffy is calm as they stare down the sharpshooter, so Zoro just leans back and takes another swig of his drink.

 

“Now that you’ve drawn your weapon,” his captain says, “You’ve put your life on the line.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“I’m saying those aren’t for threatening people, they’re for acting.”

 

Zoro couldn’t help but lowly chuckle at that, deeply amused and mesmerised by the statement. At the promise of action, his hand instinctively goes to grip at his sword, but he knows he won’t need to draw it. With the way Usopp glances towards him, he knows the sharpshooter feels the same. Even so, he shifts in between the two of them, considering his options instead of backing down. But, after crossing the mermaid’s sharp glare with his determination for nearly a full minute, Usopp finally drops to the ground. Zoro almost thinks that Luffy had used that Haki thing again, but Usopp is still conscious, sighing in defeat.

 

“Man…. real pirates sure have more punch behind their words. I’m supposed to be protecting this town from pirates, but, in all complete honesty, I’ve already kinda become friends with you so I didn’t really want to shoot. Not to mention, that was just plain cool.”

 

The serious look on Luffy’s face slowly shifts into a little cheeky smile. Simultaneously, he and Zoro turns to look at eachother. Then, something seems to erupt in them, like looking at the other infected them with something, and they start to rambunctiously laugh. They do this for a minute or so more, Nami rejoining the group at some point once she convinces the staff there was no threat.

 

Finally Zoro and Luffy comes down from the high and the captain reaching out a hand to pull Usopp back up. The sniper hesitates for a moment, eyes flickering to the mermaid’s lower half, but he takes the hand and Luffy pulls him up with ease. Their other hand gripped onto the table for balance, and strength wasn’t a problem, but Usopp seems surprised by how easily he was lifted up.

 

Regaining his composure, Usopp just tiredly laughs and picks up the slingshot while turning to Zoro, “So this is what you meant when you said I was ‘very trusting.’ Your ship didn’t have a flag though, I couldn’t’ve possibly known you guys would be pirates.”

 

“Yeah it’s not ours, I stole it from a band of thieves or whatever.”

 

“What? You didn’t tell me about that.” Nami says.

 

“Well,” Usopp starts, “if they were thieves then that’s fine right?”

 

“Hey, for your information, _ I  _ am a notorious thief and-”

 

“Those guys kidnapped me!” Luffy cheerfully blurts.

 

Nami looks to Zoro and says in the most flat tone, “You did the right thing in stealing that ship.”

 

They seem to be back in their squabble, so Zoro just brings his bottle to his lips and tilts all the way back, chugging the contents. It’s nice how the sniper fits in so easily in this new group dynamic, it would be great if they could actually recruit him.

 

“OH,” Usopp abruptly yells, prompting everyone to give him their attention again, “it’s around time we need to see my friend. We should go soon.”

 

“Oh sure…... But can I finish eating first?” Luffy asks.

 

“...........”

 

“...........”

 

“Okay fine, but make it quick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nami and usopp in canon: *immediately know luffy and zoro are pirates and are on guard from the beginning*  
> nami and usopp in this fic: *somehow manages to avoid the subject for so long that by the time they realize theyre pirates theyre already best friends with luffy and cant do anything about it*
> 
> also! a widely unexplored dynamic i really like are zoro and usopp both having strong observation skills! as a sniper, usopp would have to pay attention to a lot of factors and hone in on very tiny details whereas zoro is more observant in the big picture of things and being able to read intentions and situations pretty immediately to know how to handle it
> 
> usopp is the kind of guy to notice if you have a frayed thread on your shirt, but his profession involves a linear way of thinking so he more often than not doesn't know what to do with this information he gathers outside of shooting
> 
> as a swordsman, versatility is zoro's middle name. that sort of thing is essential to sword fighting so instead of honing in on the details, he sees the whole picture to catch any openings or weaknesses and is able to read the emotional state of others with this heightened view of movement and mannerisms, but seeing details seem to be his downfall as i imagine this is the reason he gets lost all the time and he tends to overlook more obvious things
> 
> i didnt really get to show it off here, but usopp uses both they/he pronouns for luffy because he very immediately picks up that luffy is a gender nonconforming person and notices how zoro and nami use they/them and he/him respectively


	11. Sour Words

Rejection.

 

The group was met with rejection.

 

“Aw c’mon, Klahadore! You didn’t even let us talk to Kaya, I’m sure she would be fine with it.”

 

Usopp continually argues with a butler. The gang had to snuck into mansion grounds through a strange hidden bush entrance (Luffy had to be awkwardly pulled through) and Usopp started climbing a tree before being stopped by this newcomer. Usopp had to climb down from the tree, and reluctantly goes to face the man and asks directly. However, looking at the sniper with disdain, stood tall with awful looking shoes and a strange emblem on his suit coat, the butler ignores the request and brushes the boy off.

 

“Oh please, why would I ever indulge in a request from someone like you.”

 

“That’s why I’m not asking  _ you _ ,” Usopp yells, “I’m asking Kaya! Please, she would LOVE to help this guy.” He pats Luffy’s back as he says this for emphasis, but the butler still ignores him.

 

“Miss Kaya has no business fulfilling requests from the son of a  _ pirate _ ,” the butler says, spitting out the last word with especial disgust, “I must ask you to leave.”

 

Zoro had wondered why Usopp had such a roundabout way of seeing his friend, but this butler’s mere presence seems to be answering all his questions. He seems to just vehemently dislike the sniper for no real reason aside from the “son of a pirate” comment.

 

They argue more, Luffy gently telling Usopp that it was alright and they can leave, but Usopp refused to back down. This argument was about more than the wheelchair now.

 

Sour words are exchanged, some that may soon be regretted. The feud has escalated to full on shouting and Nami wants nothing more than to leave, but nobody ceased. Luffy has already given up, taking steps back to hang by Zoro who just quietly observed. Usopp was cowardly, but he’s a man of conviction. They both knew there was no stopping him.

 

Eventually, at the appearance of the supposed “Kaya” in her bedroom window, Usopp huffs and runs off, presumably to spare his friend of the nasty display. The butler shouts a final insult of being “a spineless coward” towards the sniper’s back, but he still retreats without a second thought. Immediately after, the remaining group hears a horrified gasp in Kaya’s direction, all attention turned towards her.

 

“Klahadore!”

 

The butler barely reacts, he just awkwardly adjusts his glasses and speaks in a drastically cool voice compared to his earlier argumentative tone, “Do not worry, Miss Kaya. It was just a small quarrel and I will kindly escort the rest of these trespassers out. I assure you that I did not intend to verbally harm or attack Usopp and that I had simply lost my composure,” he bows to her, “I sincerely apologized for what you had to see.”

 

Kaya just sighs, seemingly resigned. Zoro could see she was upset but she didn’t bother to argue, just weakly coughing as she shut the window and withdrew into her room again. Interesting, Zoro thought.

 

With Kaya gone, Klahadore robotically turns back to them, “Come with me, I will show you the gates now.”

 

His words were civil, but they were spoken with insincerity. Like he was reading from a predetermined script, leaving a bad taste in the trio’s mouths.

 

Then they were led out, and found themselves alone in the village.

 

Well.

 

Now what?

 

✦✦✦

 

The medical clinic the trio visits produced no results. They had a very limited supply of wheelchairs and pretty much all of them already went to the elderly, not to mention they would have to pay a hefty price to actually  _ own _ one of the chairs and leave the island with it. Apparently, since this was just a small village, the townsfolk technically “borrow” the chairs from the clinic. Everyone knew where everything is and there was no excess demands, there was no reason to make people pay.

 

The gang had to move on, this search becoming rather frustrating and fruitless. They hadn’t seen Usopp either, not that they were really looking for him, but he certainly hasn’t turned up.

 

“Maybe we should just give up. Really, it’s no big deal. I can manage,” Luffy says as they walk along the dirt path, in formation with Zoro for support.

 

“No, let’s keep looking. I don’t care how much you say it’ll be fine, it’s not and it’ll be easier for everyone involved if we get you one so we’re gonna keep going,” Nami says, keeping her confident pace ahead of them as she flits her gaze on the buildings around them.

 

Luffy groans a little, in that whiny tone they do when things don’t go their way, before leaning their head onto Zoro’s arm with a pout.

 

“You don’t need to go through so much trouble for something I’m not even asking for….” they lowly murmur, clearly not meant to be heard by the others, but Zoro heard it. He keeps his ears sharp when listening to Luffy.

 

“We’re going through the trouble because we care about you. And when it’s for you, it’s no trouble at all, captain,” he softly whispers back, feeling an odd warmth in his chest as he feels the mermaid jerks in surprise at getting an unexpected response.

 

Luffy looks in awe at Zoro at that for a bit, but they eventually tear their gaze away and say nothing more.

 

✦✦✦

 

They had eventually found Usopp again with the advice of some kids they ran into  _ (“Ha ha, that one looks like an one looks like an apple.” “Luffy, don’t be rude!”) _ , but the plan they accidentally stumbled upon on with the sniper was in no way pleasant.

 

The trio had found Usopp sat under the same tree from when they first arrived, sat by the cliff and “cooling his head” as he put it. He deeply apologized for deserting the group, which they easily forgave him for (especially Luffy) and was about to explain himself more and offer to try and sneak them into the mansion again, but they were interrupted by a troubling conversation overheard from the beach.

 

The butler Klahadore, revealing himself to be a retired pirate by the name of  _ Kuro of a thousand plans _ , had been discussing launching a mass attack at dawn on Syrup Village then killing Kaya and having Kuro inherit her fortune with a man that was presumably his first mate. While the rest of the gang wisely laid low as they listened, hearing the plan outraged Luffy, causing them to immediately shout whatever was on their mind at them (they were not kind words).

 

Then the first mate, with the strange beard and odd clothing, produces a sharpened pendulum from his coat in response and begins to let it swing.

 

Usopp and Nami reasonably panic at the implications of hypnosis, but strangely enough, the effects only fell upon Luffy and apparently hypnotist himself. Falling asleep, Kuro chides the first mate for never fixing that habit of his while Zoro quickly catches Luffy from falling forward off the cliff.

 

Now, stricken with the fear of knowing such a dangerous man’s plan, Usopp quickly tells the others they should retreat to think of a strategy before sprinting off. Nami, who had immediately agreed, following after him. On the other hand, Zoro didn’t want to leave, knowing he can take this man right here right now, but he had a sleeping mermaid in his arm and the others have already ran off. He couldn’t just set Luffy down and hope they won’t become a target, he was stuck.

 

Not knowing what else to do, the swordsman reluctantly runs after the duo as well, holding his unconcious captain close to his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the part where i start fast forwarding through these arcs a bit because i have a plan and i am NOT going to rewrite all of one piece to get to the end goal lol i just wanna get to the important parts
> 
> unfortunately im also having trouble writing in a "fast forward style" so that's why these chapters are getting a little longer to write despite the lack of substance so sorry about that im trying my best, hope you guys still enjoy though!!


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